German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged fellow NATO countries to send Ukraine desperately needed air defence systems, including additional Patriot missile batteries.
Scholz, speaking at a gathering of European Union leaders in Brussels, said there is no reasonable reason for any NATO country to refuse the urgent requests for Patriots from Kiev.
Russian forces have been pounding Ukrainian cities with missile and drone attacks for more than two years, with particularly intense strikes over recent days that have targeted Ukrainian power plants and other electric infrastructure.
Scholz said that Ukrainian leaders have specifically requested seven additional Patriot air-defence systems, and Germany has already promised to deliver one. The German leader said he hoped other NATO countries would step forward to offer the other six.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to appeal for additional military support for the ongoing battle against Russia's full-scale military invasion at a crisis meeting with EU defence ministers this Friday.
According to Zelensky, his country is currently concerned about whether it can hold the front line against Russian assaults and protect the remaining energy infrastructure.
Zelensky said in early April that 25 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems would be needed to fully protect Ukrainian airspace.
He said, however, that just seven additional Patriot systems would be enough to defend the most important targets against Russian attacks. Each Patriot system includes six to eight anti-aircraft missile launchers.
Russia has increased military pressure on Ukraine in recent weeks and destroyed almost all thermal power plants with airstrikes.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, meanwhile, has appealed to lawmakers in the United States to finally approve a further aid package for Ukraine.
The long-delayed $61 billion US aid package has been blocked for months by conservative Republicans led by former president Donald Trump. But a vote is now expected in the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives on Saturday.
Nausėda wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that the Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson "has rightly said history judges us for what we do."
"Now is the time for the [United States] to do the right thing," Nausėda said.
Russian airstrikes and "the horrific bombing of critical infrastructure" have added to the needs of Ukraine's government for outside budget support as well, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday in Washington.
"At this point, we assess the needs for this year at $42 billion, the IMF's Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday in Washington at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. "We have confidence that this needs would be met."
She praised the remarkable determination of Ukrainians and said support for the country remains stable as it continues to fight against Russian forces.
But she said the best outcome for the world would be an end to the war in Ukraine, and an end to the war in the Gaza Strip as well.
The IMF is supporting Ukraine with a loan programme that was approved around a year ago. It has a term of four years and is intended to give Ukraine access to $15.6 billion.
A few weeks ago, the IMF approved a further financial injection for Kiev from the programme, enabling the country to withdraw $880 million.
