Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted the leaders of several countries across southeastern Europe in the port city of Odesa Wednesday, hours after it was targeted by Russian strikes.
The summit included leaders from across the region, including from Romania, Moldova, Greece and Croatia.
The leaders signed a declaration condemning Moscow's invasion, including calling for NATO membership for Ukraine and denouncing "war crimes" committed by Russia.
Serbia's president Aleksandar Vucic, who maintains strong ties with Russia, was also at the summit in his first visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion, but was not in the list of leaders who signed the declaration, published by Zelensky's office.
The declaration called for Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine and condemned the "deportation of thousands of Ukrainian civilians -- including children" by Russia.
"A free, peaceful, and prosperous Europe is impossible without a free, peaceful, and prosperous Ukraine," the declaration said.
In his opening speech, Zelensky pushed for unity among the region's leaders.
"Sadly, our region is one of Russia's main targets - main targets for causing chaos," Zelensky told the summit.
"We've seen this before - across the Balkans, where Russia fuelled ethnic tensions, sabotage, and even coup attempts," he said.
"We've witnessed attempts to manipulate public opinion in Romania, with Moscow's involvement. And for three decades now, Russia has tried to keep Moldova in poverty and instability, to bring it fully under its control," he added.
Odesa has been repeatedly hit by Russian drone and missile strikes throughout the conflict.
A drone attack "damaged homes, civilian boats and warehouses" in the Odesa region overnight, Ukraine's foreign ministry said Wednesday.
Kyiv launched annual Ukraine-Southeast Europe summits in 2022 to boost connections with the region amid its war with Russia.
At last year's summit, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Zelensky called for Europe to "unite" and called on Brussels to accelerate the process of letting in new members to the EU, including Ukraine.
