Zelenskyy arrives in Romania for Bucharest Nine summit
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Romania on 13 May, where he will take part in the Bucharest Nine summit and hold a series of meetings on strengthening Ukraine's defence.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska arrived in Romania on 13 May.
On the sidelines of the Bucharest Nine summit, the Ukrainian president said a number of important meetings are planned.
He stressed that Ukraine will work to secure additional defence resources and expand the Drone Deals format – long-term international agreements on drone production, technology sharing and defence cooperation.
Arrived in Romania together with the First Lady @ZelenskaUA.
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 13, 2026
The Bucharest Nine Summit is taking place here today, with the participation of Northern European countries. Important meetings are planned on the sidelines of the summit. All of us in the world need joint decisions… pic.twitter.com/35NdpABFg7
"Olena will meet with the First Lady of Romania and take part in the signing of memoranda on the accession of Romanian universities to the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies," Zelenskyy wrote on X.
The Bucharest Nine was established in 2015 as a format for cooperation in the security sphere. It consists of Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Meetings are held within this format at the level of leaders and foreign and defence ministers.
Romania believes that existing capabilities must be regrouped to protect the EU's eastern flank from Russian drones.