Ukraine on Thursday urged NATO allies to lift restrictions on its use of long-range weapons against targets in Russia, saying that would be "game-changer" in its war with Moscow, while China slammed NATO criticism of its support for Russia as biased and malicious.
NATO members issued a declaration in support of Ukraine at a summit in Washington on Wednesday, promising additional aid and pledging to back its "irreversible path" to NATO membership.
"At this summit we are turning a corner and putting in place the foundations for Ukraine to prevail," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference after a three-day meeting in Washington of the 32 NATO states.
"Today, we send a strong message of unity and resolve to Moscow that violence and intimidation do not pay, and that Ukraine can count on NATO now for the long haul."
Near the end of the summit on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as "President Putin," before correcting himself, in a mix up likely to add fuel to calls for him to quit the 2024 presidential race.
In a press conference shortly after, Biden made another verbal slip, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
Zelenskiy earlier called on allies to preserve their unified support of Ukraine and said new aid had to be delivered quickly.
"If we want to win, if we want to prevail, to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations," he said.
Zelenskiy's cabinet chief Andryi Yermak told a public forum Russia had no restrictions on its use of weapons and it would be "a real game-changer" if Ukraine's allies could lift all limits on the use of those they supply to Ukraine.
Reuters