Zelenskyy says death toll from Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia region rises to 43

The death toll from a Russian strike on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region has risen to 43, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday.

Speaking at the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid, Zelenskyy said the search-and-rescue operation had entered its fourth day, with dozens of people potentially still under the rubble.

Zelenskyy said he also discussed Ukraine’s EU accession process at a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa on the sidelines of the event, saying Kyiv aimed to close all negotiating clusters by the end of this year and advance to the next stage of negotiations in 2027.

He said he presented proposals to accelerate the process, which Costa would discuss with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The two also discussed preparations for the trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi and Ukraine’s priorities, Zelenskyy said.

He stressed that European representatives should take part in discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine and its economic recovery.

Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy also held a meeting with Portuguese President Antonio Jose Seguro. According to him, energy assistance and cooperation in weapons production were the focus of the meeting.

At a separate meeting with Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora, Zelenskyy said he discussed efforts to return Ukrainian children displaced because of the conflict with Russia.

He said Ukraine had returned 2,790 children out of more than 20,000 whom Kyiv says were taken from the country. He added that the two sides agreed to maintain contact and coordinate their efforts.