Zelensky: To win the war, the US must lift its restrictions on attacks on military targets in Russia

WASHINGTON – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that to win the war against Russia, the United States must lift restrictions on the use of its weapons against military targets in Russia.

Zelensky made the remarks on Thursday during an appearance alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the final days of a NATO summit.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS. AP’s earlier story follows below.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to defending Ukraine and announced a new military aid package on the final day of a NATO summit that was overshadowed by concerns about growing support for Russia’s invasion from China and North Korea, but also by Democratic fears about the American president’s ability to remain in office for another four years.

“We will stand by your side, period,” Biden said at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Biden called the package his eighth since taking office. The most recent includes $225 million in support, including an additional Patriot missile system to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses against deadly Russian airstrikes.

The Patriot air defense system, the second the U.S. has delivered to Ukraine, is one of several announced by Biden at the NATO summit this week and is part of a series of commitments to provide weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks, including one that hit a children’s hospital in Kyiv this week.

Zelensky thanked Biden for the invitation to the summit and described the new security package as “strong news.”

But in his brief remarks to the press at the start of the meeting, the Ukrainian president also indicated that he intended to put pressure on Biden to further ease US restrictions on the use of American weapons.

“We must act quickly … to lift all restrictions on our Ukrainian soldiers,” Zelensky said.

Later this evening, all eyes will be on Biden when he wraps up the summit of 32 NATO leaders in Washington with a press conference. It will give him a new chance to prove to the American public that he is capable of staying in office for another four years after his shocking debate flop left the future of his presidency in doubt.

The latest events at the NATO summit come a day after NATO called China a “key enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine. China, in turn, accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and warned the military alliance against bringing the same “chaos” to Asia.

“We value the close partnership with your country, not least because our security is not regional but global,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as he welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the final day of the Alliance’s summit in Washington.

“The war in Ukraine shows this clearly,” Stoltenberg added.

Summoning NATO leaders to the military alliance’s main decision-making body, Stoltenberg said they would address “common security challenges, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, China’s support for Russia’s war economy and the growing rapprochement of authoritarian powers.” He said allies must work ever more closely together to keep the peace.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is also taking part in the talks, said it was important to involve all partners in a conversation on how to ensure stability, particularly as China strengthens its relations with Russia, but also in the Asia-Pacific region.

“China supports Russia in the name of this borderless friendship. (North) Korea is one of Russia’s most important suppliers of raw materials,” he told reporters, noting that maritime border tensions “in the Indo-Pacific pose a threat to the stability of the entire region.”

Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are particularly taking part in the summit.

Later, Zelensky will attend a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council with the allies’ heads of state and government. This forum, established a year ago, brings together the 32 allies and Kyiv on an equal footing to exchange concerns and information.

On Wednesday, NATO leaders assured Ukraine that it was on an “irreversible path” to membership, but said accession would only be possible sometime after the war, when allies agree that the country has met all conditions.

A missile attack on Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital on the eve of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington underscored that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not be ready to make peace for some time.

Many allies also offered more military support, and NATO launched a new program to finance supplies of military equipment and coordinate training for the beleaguered Ukrainian forces. NATO members also pledged to maintain current levels of military aid – about 40 billion euros ($43.5 billion) annually – for at least a year.

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AP reporters Aamer Madhani and Eric Tucker contributed.