Zelensky urges US military chiefs to allow Ukraine to launch deeper attacks against Russia

He met with military chiefs and more than 50 partner nations on Friday to push for more arms support after Washington announced it would provide an additional $250 million (£190 million) in security assistance to Kyiv.

His comments came at a time when Ukraine continues to maintain that without long-range strikes and strengthened air defenses, it faces a grim winter.

The meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group came at a dynamic moment in Ukraine's fight against Russia. The country is conducting its first offensive operations of the war while facing a significant threat from Russian forces near a key junction in Donbass.

Moreover, this happened just days after Russia launched a deadly airstrike on a Ukrainian military training center, killing more than 50 people and injuring hundreds.

Then on Friday, Russia fired five ballistic missiles at the city of Pavlohrad in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding at least 50 people, said the region's governor, Serhii Lysak. Three of those injured in the broad daylight attack were children aged four, nine and 11, he said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the leaders' meeting came at a dynamic moment in Ukraine's fight against Russia.

It was the first time Zelensky came to the Ramstein air base to address the group. He used his public appearance to stress that he believes the most important thing now is for the US and the West to allow him to use the weapons they supply to attack deeper inside Russia. The US, however, has not supported this approach, fearing a further escalation of the war.

“We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine but also on Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to strive for peace,” Zelensky told members.

“We need to make Russian cities and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or Putin.”

So far, the US has been hesitant to further relax restrictions on the long-range missiles it supplies, fearing a further escalation of the conflict.

However, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said Zelensky had convinced him to support the use of long-range strikes and that he hoped other Western allies would also support the request. Canada does not have long-range munitions that it can provide on its own, Blair said.

“One of the things that President Zelensky and his ministers have made clear to us is that they are suffering significant attacks from air bases and military installations inside Russia,” Blair said.

“We support their request for approval, but it is still a decision of our allies.”

The surprise attack on Russia's Kursk territory has so far not stopped President Vladimir Putin from capturing the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, which provides important rail and supply links for the Ukrainian army. The loss of Pokrovsk could endanger other Ukrainian cities.

Although Kursk has put Russia on the defensive, “we know Putin's malevolence runs deep,” Austin warned in a prepared speech to the media ahead of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. Moscow continues to apply pressure, particularly around Pokrovsk, Austin said.

Mr Zelensky also said that the systems already promised would be delivered far too late.

“The number of air defense systems not yet delivered is considerable,” he said.

Friday's meeting is expected to focus on providing more air defense and artillery stocks and consolidating progress in developing Ukraine's defense industry to put it on a more solid footing ahead of the final days of Joe Biden's U.S. presidency.

Mr Zelensky said he would continue to push for long-range strike capabilities.

“To bring us closer to the just peace we seek, strong, long-term decisions from partners are needed,” he said on Telegram on Friday.

Western partner countries are working with Ukraine to procure a replacement missile for the Soviet-era S-300 air defense system, Austin said.

The U.S. is also focused on acquiring a variety of air-to-surface missiles that the newly delivered F-16 fighter jets can carry. That includes the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which could give Ukraine the ability to deploy longer-range cruise missiles, said Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon's top arms buyer, who spoke to reporters traveling with Austin.

No decision has been made regarding ammunition, LaPlante said, noting that policymakers have yet to decide whether to equip Ukraine with longer-range weapons.

“I would just put JASSM in that category, it's something that's constantly being watched,” Mr. LaPlante said. “Anything that's an air-to-ground weapon is constantly being watched.”

Over the past two years, members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have met to address Ukraine's enormous artillery and air defense needs, ranging from hundreds of millions of rounds of small arms ammunition to some of the West's most advanced air defense systems and now fighter jets.

This month's request was similar to the old pattern but different in that it was made in person. It followed a similar personal visit by Biden's deputy national security adviser Jon Finer to Kyiv on Thursday as Zelensky solidified U.S. support ahead of the administration change.

Since 2022, member states have collectively provided Ukraine with around $106 billion (£80.5 billion) in security assistance, of which the US has provided more than $56 billion (£42.5 billion).

The German government said Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to meet with Zelensky in Frankfurt on Friday afternoon.

In Ukraine, thousands of mourners gathered on Friday for a memorial service in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for the victims of a Russian missile attack that killed seven people, including a mother and her three daughters.

Yaroslav Basylevich, whose wife Yevgenia (43) and his daughters Emilia (7), Daryna (18) and Yaryna (21) were killed, attended the funeral in the Garrison Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

Dozens of civilians were also injured in early-dawn explosions this week in the historic city centre.