Ukraine Russia Online: German Defense Minister arrived in Kiev

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Želenskyj He welcomed several countries of Southeast Europe in Odessa.

The leaders at the summit signed a statement condemning the Russian invasion, in which they called, among other things, to enter Ukraine to NATO and condemned war crimes committed by Russia.

The meeting was also attended by leaders from Romania, Croatia, Moldova and Greece. Ukraine was also visited by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučič, who has long maintained close relations with Russia, writes AFP. It was his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

According to the agency, however, Vučič was not on the list of leaders who signed the aforementioned statement published by the office of the Ukrainian President.

In the statement, the leaders called on Russia to withdraw their troops from Ukraine and condemn « the deportation of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including children » by Russia.

« A single, peaceful and prosperous Europe is not possible without free, peaceful and prosperous Ukraine, » the statement said.

At the beginning of the meeting he called for unity among the leaders of the region. « Unfortunately, our region is one of the main goals of Russia, the main goals to induce chaos, » said the Ukrainian President. « We’ve seen it before, across the Balkans, where Russia encouraged ethical tensions, sabotage and even coup attempts, » continued Greeding.

« We have witnessed attempts to manipulate public opinion in Romania, with the participation of Moscow. And for three decades, Russia has been trying to keep Moldova in poverty and instability to completely get it under its control, » he added.

Odessa – the place of Wednesday’s summit – is repeatedly the target of Russian attacks by drones and missiles during the more than three years of war, recalls AFP. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Wednesday that during the night drone attack, homes, civilian ships and warehouses in the Odessa region were damaged.

Kiev for the first time organized Ukraine – Southeast Europe in 2022 to strengthen relations with this region during the Russian War. Last year’s summit was held in Dubrovník, Croatia and Greeding to call Europe to « unite ». He also called on Brussels to speed up the process of recruiting new members to the European Union, including Ukraine, recalls AFP. (TASR)