KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed leaders and representatives from seven regional countries for talks on deepening cooperation on Friday, as overnight Russian strikes in multiple regions sparked fires and caused several deaths and injuries.
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strikes → welcome → deaths
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.
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Union → call → Ukraine
It comes as US-mediated efforts to end Russia’s four-and-a-half-year full-scale invasion have stalled, with the issue of territorial concessions in eastern Ukraine among the central sticking points.
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efforts → come → points
Ukraine is also seeking security guarantees from partners for a deal.
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Ukraine → seek → 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.
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which → come → 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.
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Some → attend → Ukraine
Others, such as Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia, have refused to provide Kyiv with direct military assistance.
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Others → refuse → assistance
Zelensky 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.”
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summit → write → level
He added that the participating countries would work together on security, energy, logistics, cross-border economic ties and support for local communities.
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countries → add → 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.
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Russia → come → territory
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.
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Officials → accuse → airport
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday 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.”
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that → say → security
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday it had summoned the British Chargé d’Affaires to strongly protest the United Kingdom’s continued increase in the supply of drones and other weapons systems to Ukraine.
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it → say → Ukraine
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Report → start → news
The ministry said the UK’s “fiercely confrontational stance” was aimed at “prolonging and escalating the armed conflict by every possible means.”
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stance → say → means
It added that Russia reserves the right to take necessary countermeasures in self-defense, and that “any British military facilities in Ukraine used to strike Russian territory represent legitimate targets.”
Ukraine receives nearly $4 billion in EU support
Following a phone call with von der Leyen on Friday, Zelensky said in a Telegram post that Ukraine has received a 3.3 billion-euro tranche (roughly $3.8 billion) from an EU financial support package meant to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities, including the purchase of missiles and drones.
The funding comes as Kyiv faces a projected budget deficit of roughly $27 billion this year.
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Kyiv → add → billion
Zelensky 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.
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Ukraine → say → stability
Russian strikes spark fires and cause deaths and injuries
Two people were killed and two others injured in Russian strikes overnight in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said in a statement on Telegram.
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Service → spark → Telegram
The strikes sparked fires in warehouse and production buildings.
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strikes → spark → buildings
Rescuers were forced to retreat during repeated air raid alerts, while emergency de-miners inspected the area for explosive devices.
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miners → force → devices
Firefighters later extinguished the blazes.
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Firefighters → extinguish → blazes
Elsewhere, one person was killed and six others injured after Russian forces attacked an electric train in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, the state emergency service said.
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service → kill → region
The drone strike targeted a railway station in the Novovodolazka community and sparked a fire in two carriages of the suburban train.
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strike → target → train
Another Russian drone attack destroyed a shopping complex in Zaporizhzhia, injuring one person and triggering a fire, the emergency service said.
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service → destroy → fire
The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 629 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions, as well as illegally annexed Crimea and the Azov and the Black seas.
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defenses → say → Crimea
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 350 drones were headed toward Moscow, but that most were destroyed far from the Russian capital while 64 were downed as they approached the city.
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they → say → city
In the southern region of Rostov near the border with Ukraine, houses and residential buildings and were damaged in an attack, local authorities said.
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authorities → damage → attack
The Russian military said Friday it carried out drone strikes overnight on Ukraine’s ports, vessels and logistics centers operating for the military.
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it → say → military
Russian forces hit a bulk carrier in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk and a Nova Poshta logistics facility, six kilometers (3.7 miles) northwest of Odesa, that the Russian Defense Ministry said was used for storing and distributing military cargo from Europe.
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Ministry → hit → Europe
The Aporia
