Zelenskyy hosts Carpathian Eight summit as Russian strikes hit Ukraine

Zelenskyy gathered seven regional partners in Bukovel as Russian strikes hit multiple Ukrainian regions. The meeting highlighted Kyiv's push for security, funds and closer European coordination amid stalled peace efforts.

In Short

• Overnight attacks killed civilians, injured passengers and sparked fires in multiple regions
• Kyiv wants security guarantees as US-backed peace efforts remain deadlocked
• EU released 3.3 billion euros to bolster Ukraine's defence and finances

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday hosted leaders and representatives from seven regional countries for talks on closer cooperation, as overnight Russian strikes in several regions caused deaths, injuries and fires. The meeting, the first summit of the so-called "Carpathian Eight", brought together Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, with the European Union also involved.

The summit came as US-mediated efforts to end Russia's 4 1/2-year full-scale invasion remained stalled, with territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine among the main sticking points. Ukraine is also seeking security guarantees from partners for any deal. It also coincided with the start of three days of voting in Russia's first wartime parliamentary election, which has virtually no opposition to President Vladimir Putin's party and is widely expected to reinforce the Kremlin's political dominance.

Some of the countries attending the meeting, including Poland and Romania, have strongly backed Ukraine, while Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia have refused to provide Kyiv with direct military assistance. Writing on Telegram, Zelenskyy described the summit as a "significant beginning" of a movement intended to "further strengthen ties between our countries and create another strong element of cooperation at the EU level". He said the participating countries would work together on security, energy, logistics, cross-border economic ties and support for local communities.

The summit in the western Ukrainian ski resort of Bukovel took place amid growing concern in Europe over what officials describe as Russian hybrid threats, including sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation and possible drone incursions into NATO territory. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday before leaving for Ukraine that Moscow was planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Kyiv, including Poland. In recent weeks, officials in Poland, Germany and Denmark have accused Russia of involvement in drone incursions, sabotage, arson, surveillance of defence facilities and a plan to use a drone carrying explosives to attack an airport. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the EU needs a NATO-like mechanism to respond better to hybrid attacks blamed on Russia and to develop "a consensus on how to respond to certain incidents ... that fall below armed aggression but clearly threaten our national security".

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday it had summoned the British Charge d'Affaires to protest what it called the United Kingdom's continued increase in the supply of drones and other weapons systems to Ukraine. The ministry said the UK's "fiercely confrontational stance" was aimed at "prolonging and escalating the armed conflict by every possible means". It added that Russia reserved the right to take necessary countermeasures in self-defence and that "any British military facilities in Ukraine used to strike Russian territory represent legitimate targets". Britain's Foreign Office said the UK would remain committed to providing the equipment Ukraine needs to defend itself, and called the diplomatic reprimand "yet another attempt to deflect attention from Russia's barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine and discredit the UK on the world stage".

After a phone call with von der Leyen, Zelenskyy said on Telegram that Ukraine had received a 3.3 billion-euro tranche, roughly USD 3.8 billion, from an EU financial support package intended to strengthen its defence capabilities, including the purchase of missiles and drones. The funding comes as Kyiv faces a projected budget deficit of about USD 27 billion this year. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was also preparing for a meeting with von der Leyen at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week focused on the country's financial stability.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said two people were killed and two others were injured in overnight Russian strikes in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv. The strikes set warehouse and production buildings on fire. Rescuers had to pull back during repeated air raid alerts, while emergency de-miners checked the area for explosive devices, before firefighters later put out the blazes. In the Kharkiv region, one person was killed and six others were injured after Russian forces attacked an electric train. The service said the drone strike hit a railway station in the Novovodolazka community and started a fire in two carriages of the suburban train.

On the Russian side, the Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 629 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and the Azov and Black Seas. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 350 drones were headed towards Moscow, but most were destroyed far from the capital and 64 were downed as they approached the city. The Russian military also said it carried out overnight drone strikes on Ukraine's ports, vessels and a logistics centre used by the military. It said Russian forces hit a bulk carrier in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk and a Nova Poshta logistics facility, 6 kilometres northwest of Odesa, which it said was used to store and distribute military cargo from Europe.

The day's developments underscored how Ukraine is trying to deepen regional and EU cooperation while facing continued Russian attacks, pressure over stalled diplomacy and wider European concerns about security threats linked to the war.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends