We are receiving more comments from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been speaking at US air base Ramstein in western Germany this morning.
In an update on the situation in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian leader said Ukraine now controlled more than 1,300sq km there.
He also urged military allies to ignore Moscow’s “red lines” and allow Kyiv to use long-range weapons for strikes on Russian territory.
“We need to have these long-range capabilities not only on the territory of Ukraine but also on the Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” he said at the meeting of some 50 nations which supply arms to Ukraine.
What is happening in the Kursk region?
In early August, Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack into Russia’s Kursk region.
Mr Zelenskyy said the move was to “hold” the territory and it was a key part of his “victory plan” to end the war.
The invasion was kept a secret from allies and reportedly from Ukraine’s own intelligence service.
But so far the surprise attack inside the Kursk territory has not drawn away Vladimir Putin’s focus from taking the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, which provides critical rail and supply links for the Ukrainian army.
Losing Pokrovsk could put additional Ukrainian cities at risk.
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