Ukraine’s Zelensky Presses WEstern Allies for More Weapons

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine appealed directly on Friday to Western military leaders for faster weapons deliveries on the heels of a flurry of major Russian missile strikes.

Better defense against such strikes and the ability to hit back at targets in Russia would help Ukraine put military pressure on Moscow “so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” Mr. Zelensky said. But in opening comments, he lamented that prohibitions on firing long-range, Western-provided missiles and rockets into Russia persisted. “We see your long-range policy has not changed,” he said.

Mr. Zelensky spoke in person at a conference in Germany on weapons donations as he pursues what he calls a policy of combining military pressure and diplomacy to seek an end to the war.

The meetings, known as the Ramstein Format, bring together generals and defense ministers to coordinate on arms supplies for Kyiv. They take place periodically and are intended to address the most pressing needs of the Ukrainian army, with donations from about 50 nations.

The last meeting came in June, before Ukraine launched a surprise ground attack into Russia that added a new swath of about 60 miles of frontline inside Russia — and created an even greater need for new weapons if Ukraine is to hold the territory. The attack was not coordinated with allies, Ukrainian and Western officials have said.

In opening remarks, Mr. Zelensky outlined what he described as gains a month into the incursion, seizing 500 square miles of Russian territory even as Russia advances in eastern Ukraine, threatening to capture the strategic hub of Pokrovsk. At the same time, Mr. Zelensky said, the Ukrainian army has killed or wounded about 6,000 Russian soldiers on Russian soil in the past month. The assertion could not be independently verified.