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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded more military support from Western allies on Friday and said Russians must choose between "peace and President Vladimir Putin."
The United States announced on the same day that it will allocate an additional $250 billion in military aid to Kiev.
Speaking at a meeting of the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Zelensky also urged allies to allow Kiev to use the weapons they supply it with to carry out attacks deep inside Russia.
Washington has opposed this until now due to concerns that it could affect the escalation of the war.
"We need these long-range weapons, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on the territory of Russia, in order to motivate Russia to seek peace," Zelensky said during the meeting with US military leaders and more than 50 partner countries.
"We need to make Russian citizens and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or Putin," he emphasized.
Russian forces have advanced in eastern Ukraine, around the city of Pokrovsk, which is a vital route for Ukraine's military supply. The Russian military has continued to make advances there, despite a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region last month.
Kiev claims that it has taken under control about 1,300 kilometers of Russian land and that it has killed or wounded about 6,000 Russian soldiers.
While this incursion has caused Russia to focus on defense, "we know how bad Putin is," said Lloyd Austin, the US secretary of defense, speaking to the media before the meeting.
Announcing $250 million in aid to Kiev, Austin said the support would provide "more weapons to meet Ukraine's ongoing needs."
The Associated Press reported with sources that this support includes ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, artillery shells and anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.
Since 2022 when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the member countries of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine have helped Kiev together with about $106 billion in military support.
Washington, Ukraine's biggest supporter during the war, has given it more than $56 billion in total, according to the Pentagon./ REL
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