In Transcarpathia, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a bilateral meeting with President of the European Council António Costa.

This is reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I would like to thank Mr. President for supporting Ukraine here today. We know about your busy schedule, but you found this time to support Ukraine and thank you for coming to this particular region," Zelensky said.

"It is expected that Antonio Costa will speak at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities today. We have a regional summit, and the fact that you are participating in the summit of our regions is very important," the head of state noted.

He called today's negotiations with the President of the European Council a very productive conversation, which took place as a continuation of yesterday's Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris.

"We were in Paris yesterday at a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing and also spoke together with the President of the United States of America, spoke with other European leaders. It feels like there is a chance now to push the situation for greater security and greater joint results for Ukraine and all of Europe," Zelenskyy noted.

He thanked the European Union, as well as European institutions, for taking an active part in developing security guarantees for Ukraine.

I want to emphasize that we are creating a security system that will start working during the war, will be preserved and fully deployed after the war. Many details have already been worked out. There are 35 countries in our coalition of the willing. Of them, 26 are ready to participate in guaranteeing security. These are specific things on the ground, in the sky, in the sea, in cyberspace, and it is also about financing our forces, - said the President.

The head of state is also scheduled to meet with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico today.

Earlier, European Union Ambassador Katarina Maternova announced on Facebook that EU representatives, together with President Volodymyr Zelensky, will join national, regional, and local leaders at the Congress of Regional Authorities to honor the resilience of Ukrainian communities and work on their recovery and future in the EU.

“We will also celebrate the symbol of this future: the opening of a new European-gauge railway line Chop-Uzhhorod, which directly connects Ukraine with its European neighbors. A bridge of steel and solidarity. Ukraine is not just resisting. It is building forward — step by step, kilometer by kilometer — towards its European future,” the ambassador emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported, President Zelenskyy said after the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing that its members share the same vision with Ukraine that Russia seeks to continue the war, so it is necessary to increase pressure on the Russian Federation through sanctions. In particular, the European Union is working on the 19th package, and Japan is also preparing sanctions steps on its part.