European leaders held a summit in Moldova to show unity against Russia’s aggression. As Russian missile strikes hit Kyiv, Ukraine’s President Zelensky joined the summit, while Moldova’s President Sandu aimed to boost Moldova’s bid to join the European Union.

On Thursday, European leaders staged a show of unity in the face of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and Moldova, holding a strategy summit on the continent’s political frontline.

As another deadly Russian missile barrage hit Kyiv, four dozen leaders from across Europe met in Moldova, just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border with war-torn Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived first, making the short journey while his capital counted the cost of another night of Russian strikes: three dead, including two children.

President Maia Sandu welcomed the leaders to the second summit of the European Political Community in Bulboaca, hoping to boost Moldova’s bid to join the European Union.

“Ukraine keeps Moldova safe today, and we’re very, very grateful for that,” Sandu told Zelensky as the pair met on the red carpet outside the Mimi Castle wine estate.

Kyiv and Chisinau hope to start EU membership talks this year, despite Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and alleged attempts to undermine Moldova’s sovereignty.

The EPC summit was also being held less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, which is occupied by Russian “peacekeepers”.

The summit was held under tight security, with NATO’s surveillance planes over neighboring Romania extending cover over the tiny former Soviet republic’s airspace.

The European Political Community (EPC) groups 27 EU members with 20 of their European allies and excludes Russia and Belarus.

It is a forum for strategic debate and, for some members, a potential stepping stone to full EU, or NATO membership, while addressing regional crises.

The Moldova summit also came as NATO ministers, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met to discuss the agenda of the alliance’s next summit.

Miroslava Salazar with AFP