Zelenskyy says to win the war, US needs to lift limits on striking military targets inside Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy embraced the support Thursday of allies who in the past two days have provided substantial new aid and a path to joining NATO, even as he emphatically pushed for the help to arrive faster and for restrictions to be lifted on the use of U.S. weapons to attack military targets inside Russia.

"If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations," Zelenskyy said while appearing alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the final hours of a summit that saw Ukraine receive fresh commitments of military aid to firm up its defense against Russia.

Earlier in the day, President Joe Biden reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, announcing a new military aid package and pledging to Zelenskyy: "We will stay with you, period."

Though Zelenskyy offered public thanks for the package, and for a promise by NATO leaders that Ukraine is now on an "irreversible path" to membership, he also sounded an alarm: that Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia now in its third year, unless the U.S. lifts limits on the use of its weapons to attack military targets in Russia.

The Biden administration currently allows Ukraine to fire weapons into Russian territory only for the purpose of hitting back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them, concerned that the broader use of American-made weaponry could provoke Russia to widen the war. But Zelenskyy has been pressing for greater latitude so that U.S. weapons could be used to hit critical military bases and installations deeper in Russian territory.

Stoltenberg, for his part, argued in support of Ukraine's call to be allowed to strike more military targets inside Russia, saying that was Ukraine's right of self-defense. He said the war had changed since the early days when the fighting was deeper into Ukrainian territory.

"Since Russia opened a new front ... the only way to hit military targets, military launchers or airfields that attack Ukraine is to hit military targets in Russian territory," he said.

The summit has been shadowed by concerns about growing Chinese and North Korean support for Russia's invasion. It also has unfolded during a tumultuous American political cycle, with mounting angst among Democrats about Biden's ability to serve another four years.

Later Thursday, all eyes will be on Biden as he closes out the summit of 32 NATO leaders in Washington with a news conference. It will provide a fresh chance for him to prove to the American public that he's capable of serving another term after his shocking debate flop threw the future of his presidency into doubt.

Joined by Zelenskyy at an event earlier in the day, Biden touted the package as his eighth since taking office, with this latest one consisting of $225 million of support, including an additional Patriot missile system to bolster Ukraine's air defenses against a deadly onslaught of Russian airstrikes.

The Patriot air defense system, the second the U.S. has provided to Ukraine, is one of several Biden announced this week at the NATO summit and is part of a swell of pledges to get weapons to Ukraine to help it fend off Russian attacks, including one this week that hit a children's hospital in Kyiv.

The flurry of final events at the NATO summit come a day after NATO labeled China a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine. China in turn accused NATO of seeking security at the expense of others and it has warned the military alliance not to bring the same "chaos" to Asia.

"We appreciate the close partnership with your country, and not least because our security is not regional, it is global," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said as he welcomed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for the last day of the alliance's summit in Washington.

"This is clearly illustrated by the war in Ukraine," Stoltenberg added.

Stoltenberg convened NATO leaders in the military alliance's main decision-making body, saying they would tackle "shared security challenges, including Russia's war against Ukraine, China's support for Russia's war economy and the growing alignment of authoritarian powers." He said allies must work ever closer to preserve peace.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is also taking part in the talks, said it was important to draw all partners into a conversation on how to ensure stability, notably as China strengthens its ties with Russia, but also in the Asia-Pacific region.

"China is supporting a Russia in the name of this unlimited friendship. (North) Korea is one of the most important suppliers of raw material to Russia," he told reporters. He noted that maritime border tensions "in the Indo-Pacific puts a threat to the stability of the whole region."

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

Zelenskyy joined allied leaders later for a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a forum set up a year ago for the 32 allies and Kyiv to meet on an equal footing to share concerns and information.

On Wednesday, NATO leaders promised Ukraine that it is on an "irreversible path" to membership, although it can only join sometime after the war, when the allies agree that it has met all the conditions.

A missile attack on Ukraine's biggest children's hospital on the eve of the summit in Washington, to mark NATO's 75th anniversary, 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 underwrite deliveries of military equipment and coordinate training for Ukraine's beleaguered armed forces. NATO members also committed to keep up current levels of military aid — about 40 billion euros ($43.5 billion) annually — for at least a year.