Zelensky to attend defense talks in Germany with Biden

KIEV

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will attend an international meeting to discuss military support for Ukraine to be held in Germany this week.

The meeting at the U.S. air base in Ramstein near Frankfurt is expected to bring together more than 50 of Ukraine's allies, including U.S. President Joe Biden.

"We are preparing for the 25th Ramstein meeting on Oct. 12, which will be the first to take place at the leaders' level," he said on social media.

He would present "clear, concrete steps towards a just end of the war," he said, adding that Russia could be stopped by "the determination of our partners and the strengthening of Ukraine."

Zelensky also attended the last Ramstein meeting in September, pressing for more weapons to repel advancing Russian forces.

The gathering will come at a crucial juncture for Ukraine ahead of the U.S. election next month, which could upend the support that Kiev receives from its biggest backer.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has long been critical of the billions of dollars the United States has given to Ukraine and has echoed Russian talking points about the conflict.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has upped the pressure on its Western supporters for clearance to use donated long-range weapons to strike military targets deep inside Russia.

Russian forces have been advancing steadily in eastern Ukraine this year against outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian troops.

Zelensky in his daily address on Oct. 5 night said he was aiming for "lasting peace and security."

He added: "This is possible only on the basis of international law and without any trade in sovereignty or trade in territories."

Kiev's troops were "demonstrating what Ukrainians can do when they have enough weapons and enough range" with long-range drone strikes on Russian military bases.

"We will convince our partners that our drones alone are not enough. More decisive steps are needed to bring the end of this war closer," he said.

Meanwhile, Russian forces said on Oct. 5 they had captured another village in eastern Ukraine as Kiev said five civilians were killed by Russian shelling in the south and east.

Russian forces "liberated the settlement of Zhelannoye Vtoroye" in Ukraine's Donetsk region, the Defense Ministry said, using the Russian name for the village of Zhelanne Druge.

The village is located close to Pokrovsk, a logistics hub for the Ukrainian army that is threatened by the advance of Russian troops.

Prosecutors in the Donetsk region said two civilians, a 65-year-old woman and an 86-year-old man, were killed in the city of Toretsk and the village of Velyka Novosilka.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Ivan Fyodorov said two men aged 44 and 46 were killed by Russian shelling in the village of Mala Tokmachka.

Prosecutors in Kharkiv region said a 49-year-old man died when the car he was driving was hit by a Russian drone.

Also on Oct. 5, Russian-installed authorities in the city of Gorlivka and in the Zaporizhzhia region said several civilians were wounded by Ukrainian shelling and drone strikes.