President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned European leaders that capitulation to Russia after it invaded Ukraine would be "suicidal" for Europe, just hours after Kyiv and the Black Sea port of Odesa were rocked by an unusually intense wave of air strikes.
Speaking at a meeting of the European Political Community in Budapest on November 7, Zelenskiy renewed his appeals for more support for his war-torn country ahead of an informal EU summit the next day to be hosted by Hungary, which currently holds the 27-member bloc's rotating presidency.
He also said he has already spoken with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump about how both the United States and Europe need to be strong for each other's benefit amid the "many challenges" facing the world.
"There has been much talk about the need to yield to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions. It's unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all Europe," Zelenskiy said in his speech, which came two days after Trump won a presidential election.
Trepidation has swept across Europe since the victory given Trump's oft-stated skepticism over U.S. military support for Ukraine.
"The concept of 'peace through strength' has proven itself and is needed now. Showing weakness or selling out Europe's positions won't buy a just peace. Peace is the reward only for the strong," Zelenskiy added.
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Zelenskiy was welcomed to the meeting by right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has maintained close ties with Putin and has spoken against EU sanctions on Moscow. Orban also has close relations with Trump.
NATO chief Mark Rutte, in a pitch to secure Trump's support for Ukraine, told journalists upon arrival in Budapest that the sending troops by North Korea to aid Russia in Ukraine posed a direct threat to the United States.
"What we see more and more is that North Korea, Iran, China, and of course Russia are working together, working together against Ukraine," Rutte said.
"At the same time, Russia has to pay for this, and one of the things they are doing is delivering technology to North Korea, which is now threatening in future the mainland of the U.S., continental Europe," he warned.
"I look forward to sit down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively," Rutte said.
The gathering in Budapest came as Ukraine shot down 74 of the 106 drones that Russia launched early on November 7 at targets in 9 Ukrainian regions -- Odesa, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Sumy, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and Chernihiv -- while 22 others were lost after being jammed by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.
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Russian strikes early on November 7 sparked fires and caused damage in five districts of Kyiv, which was under Russian attack for eight hours, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported on Telegram.
Drone debris fell in the the districts of Pechersk, Holosiyivskiy, Solomyansk, Obolonsk, and Podilsk, Klitschko said, adding that two people were injured by falling drone debris.
Klitschko reported that the upper floors of a multistory building in Pechersk were burning, and residents were being evacuated.
In Odesa, a high-rise apartment building was damaged and one man was injured by falling debris after Ukrainian air defenses shot down Russian drones over the Black Sea port, regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported.
Telegram channels published a video of a fire on the first floor of a nine-story building in Odesa.