Zelenskyy hosts leaders from seven countries for regional summit
The Hindu – International
You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
Weather News September 18, 2026 e-Paper
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
Weather News September 18, 2026 e-Paper
Published – September 19, 2026 03:56 am IST – Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials attend a summit in a Carpathian 8 Summit in Bukovel, western Ukraine, on September 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted leaders and representatives from seven regional countries for talks on deepening cooperation on Friday (September 18, 2026), after overnight Russian strikes in multiple regions sparked fires and caused several deaths and injuries.
The inaugural summit of the so-called “Carpathian Eight” brings together Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, with the European Union also involved.
It comes as U.S.-mediated efforts to end Russia's 4.5-year full-scale invasion have stalled, with the issue of territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine among the central sticking points. Ukraine is also seeking security guarantees from partners for a deal.
The summit also comes as three days of voting began in Russia's first wartime parliamentary election, which features virtually no opposition to President Vladimir Putin's party and is all but certain to secure the Kremlin's political dominance.
Some of the nations attending the meeting in western Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, such as Poland and Romania, have been staunch supporters of Ukraine. Others, such as Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia, have refused to provide Kyiv with direct military assistance.
Mr. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that the summit was 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 added that the participating countries would work together on security, energy, logistics, cross-border economic ties and support for local communities.
The meeting in the western Ukrainian ski resort of Bukovel came amid increasing concern among many European countries that Russia is ramping up hybrid threats including sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation and potential drone incursions into NATO territory.
Mr. Tusk, Poland's Prime Minister, warned on Thursday (September 17, 2026) before departing for Ukraine that Moscow is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Kyiv, among them Poland.
Officials in Poland, Germany and Denmark have in recent weeks accused Russia of involvement in drone incursions, sabotage, arson, surveillance of defense facilities and planning to use a drone carrying explosives to attack an airport.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) that the EU needs a NATO-like mechanism to better respond 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.”
Speaking at a meeting of a government commission on new weapons, Mr. Putin declared that the Western claims about Russia's purported aggressive plans were intended to justify a boost in defence spending. He again denied that Russia has any hostile intentions toward Europe, but warned that it will be forced to respond to any aggressive action by Western allies, such as the seizure of merchant vessels operated by Russia.
“Let's live in peace, otherwise we will be forced to respond in kind – it must be quite obvious to everyone,” he said.
Last month, Mr. Putin threatened retaliation for Western seizures of Russia's commercial vessels, describing them as “piracy.” He warned that the Russian response wouldn't necessarily come in the waters where the Russian ships were seized, noting that Moscow could retaliate in any area.
Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade international sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.
France and the U.K. have detained tankers suspected of being part of Russia's “shadow fleet” shipping oil in violation of international sanctions. The EU has sanctioned hundreds of “shadow fleet” ships.
Russia has recently started deploying warships to escort its commercial vessels.
Published – September 19, 2026 03:56 am IST
World
/
Ukraine
/
Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Fonte: The Hindu – International
