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Zelenskyy arrives in Vilnius for key Bucharest Nine Summit

Zelenskyy arrives in Vilnius for key Bucharest Nine Summit Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the capital of Lithuania on Monday, June 2. He will participate in the Bucharest Nine Summit, according to the Lithuanian broadcaster LRT.

The state aircraft carrying the President of Ukraine landed at Vilnius Airport at approximately 10:38 AM local time.

Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Vilnius (lrt.lt)

As is known, Zelenskyy will take part in the Bucharest Nine and Nordic countries' summit in Vilnius. The meeting is being organized by countries of the region to coordinate their positions ahead of the NATO Summit in The Hague. The summit is expected to focus on continued support for Ukraine.

It’s worth noting that the so-called Bucharest Nine (B9) was established in 2015. It includes Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

NATO Summit in The Hague

The NATO Summit will take place in The Hague (Netherlands) on June 24–25. Media reports have claimed that the United States is allegedly against inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the summit.

However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied this information, saying he doesn't know where such claims came from.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated that the decision to invite Zelenskyy to the summit is made not by the US, but by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Zelenskyy has emphasized that Ukraine’s participation in the June summit is crucial. In his view, if Ukraine is not invited, it would be a victory for Russian president Vladimir Putin over NATO.