Zelenskyy launches ‘Carpathian Eight’ initiative as Russia-Ukraine conflict escalates

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has unveiled a new regional grouping of eight countries named “Carpathian Eight”, a bloc consisting of central and eastern European countries.

Amid deadly overnight Russian airstrikes that sparked fires across multiple Ukrainian regions, Zelenskyy pressed forward with regional diplomacy on Friday.

Zelenskyy welcomed representatives from seven neighboring countries for the historic first summit of the "Carpathian Eight," a new coalition aimed at boosting regional cooperation alongside the European Union.

The new grouping includes countries including Romania, Serbia, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech ​Republic, Austria, Hungary, and the European Union.

"This marks the start of a movement ​that should bring our countries even closer together and create another ‌strong ⁠framework for cooperation at the EU level," Zelenskiy said.

According to the Ukrainian president, the security issues lie at the heart of this initiative for years to come. "It's a good start: energy, logistics, ⁠infrastructure ​and cross-sector agreements," he said in ​a speech.

The summit, which is expected to last until Sunday, was attended by Polish PM Donald Tusk, Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic and Romania’s president Nicusor Dan.

The announcement comes that the country is engaged in war with Russia which has been ongoing for more than four years. Earlier this month, the Trump administration tried to bring both parties to the negotiating table by sending US envoys to Moscow and Kyiv.

Despite, US’ efforts to resume peace talks, no breakthrough was achieved. But both sides did not rule out the possibility of talks. However, in recent weeks, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated marked by exchange of strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 629 Ukrainian drones overnight over 14 Russian regions. 

Deadly Russian strikes overnight in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv, killed two people.