Zelensky pushes for promised weapons as Russia advances

CERNOBBIO, Italy

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky made a fresh appeal Friday for more weapons to counter the threat from advancing Russian forces in the east of the country and Moscow's devastating missile strikes.

He pressed his nation's case to allies meeting at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where Washington unveiled a new $250 million military aid package for Ukraine, and later in the day at an international forum on the Italian Lakes.

"We need more weapons to drive Russian forces off our land," said Zelensky, who also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday and is set to meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday.

The gatherings came as Moscow's forces advance in the Donbas region, with Russian President Vladimir Putin having declared on Thursday that capturing the eastern area was his "primary objective" in the conflict.

Zelensky urged Kiev's supporters to follow through on previous commitments. "The number of air-defense systems that have not been delivered is significant," he said.

He again called for restrictions to be lifted on the use of long-range Western weapons.

"We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine but also on Russian territory," Zelensky said. In Italy, he assured his backers that the weapons would only be used to hit military targets.

Asked about Zelensky's appeal, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: "I don't believe that one specific capability is going to be decisive. It's not just one thing, it's a combination of capabilities and how you integrate those capabilities to achieve objectives."

 Talks in Italy 

Zelensky arrived late Friday in Cernobbio, northern Italy, for the European House-Ambrosetti forum on the banks of Lake Como. He will meet with Meloni there on Saturday.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who upset his EU counterparts and Zelensky by meeting Putin in Moscow in July, is also attending the three-day economic forum.

Zelensky rejected Orban's calls at Cernobbio for a ceasefire, saying that Putin had never respected earlier accords.

Italy has strongly supported Ukraine and has sent weapons to help it defend itself against Russian forces, while insisting these must only be used on Ukrainian soil.

At the meeting in Germany, Austin stated that Washington's latest military aid package "will surge in more capabilities to meet Ukraine's evolving requirements."

The assistance will include ammunition for HIMARS precision rocket launchers, artillery rounds, and anti-tank and anti-air weapons, the U.S. said.

The talks in Germany, with representatives from about 50 nations, focused on areas including bolstering Ukraine's air defenses and encouraging allies to boost their defense industries.

'Just and lasting peace' 

While Ukraine's surprise push into Russia's Kursk region last month caught Russian forces off-guard, Putin stressed that the move had failed to slow Moscow's advance.

Ukraine on Friday claimed to have recaptured a part of the eastern Ukrainian town of New York, in what would be the first success for Kiev on this part of the front for months.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking in Oslo on Friday, said Kiev needed more military support and that the "quickest way to end this war is to provide weapons to Ukraine."

"Putin must realize that he cannot win on the battlefield, but must accept a just and lasting peace where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign and independent nation," he said.

 U.S. uncertainty 

The United States has been Ukraine's biggest backer during the conflict, providing military aid worth more than $55 billion (50 billion euros) since February 2022.

However, November's U.S. presidential election could bring Ukraine-skeptic Donald Trump back to the White House, putting future funding in doubt.

Germany—Ukraine's second-biggest backer—has also faced domestic pressure over its aid for Kiev, which has been at the center of a protracted debate over the 2025 budget.

German officials have repeatedly pushed back against criticism over a planned reduction in financial support next year.

After talks with Zelensky in Frankfurt on Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X that "Germany is and will remain the strongest supporter of Ukraine in Europe."

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also announced on the sidelines of the meeting that his country would provide 12 artillery pieces valued at 150 million euros to Ukraine.

"I'm grateful to Germany, its government, and its people for all their support," Zelensky said in a social media post after meeting with Pistorius.

In Kiev, Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak denounced as "propaganda" the showing of "Russians at War" by Russian-Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova, at the Venice Film Festival.

In the documentary, Trofimova embedded with a Russian battalion as it advanced across eastern Ukraine when Moscow launched its full-scale military assault in February 2022.