BERLIN
\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Kyiv\u2019s presidency said Friday, the final leg of his whirlwind tour of European leaders.
\nThe plane carrying Zelensky has landed, the Ukrainian presidency told AFP.
\nThe Ukrainian leader has been seeking fresh military and financial aid from his European allies as Kyiv faces a tough winter.
\nHe is set to renew his push for Germany, the biggest military aid supplier after the United States, to deliver more weapons including long-range missiles.
\nHowever, Scholz has rejected sending the German long-range Taurus missile system, fearing an escalation of NATO\u2019s tense standoff with nuclear-armed Russia.
\nZelensky has been on a two-day tour of London, Paris, Rome and now Berlin, amid fears of dwindling Western support if Donald Trump is elected US president next month.
\nA scheduled Ukraine defense meeting Saturday at the Ramstein US air base in western Germany was postponed after US President Joe Biden called off a state visit to Germany because of Hurricane Milton.
\nRussian forces have made advances across the eastern frontline and targeted the war-battered country\u2019s power grid as Ukraine faces its toughest winter since the full-scale Russian invasion started in February 2022.
\nRussia said Friday its forces had captured the frontline villages of Zhelanne Druge and Ostrivske, the latest in a string of territorial gains for Moscow.
\nZelensky has pushed for clearance to use long-range weapons supplied by allies, including British Storm Shadow missiles, to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
\nWashington and London have stalled on giving approval over fears it could draw NATO allies into direct conflict with Russia.
\nIn Germany, Scholz\u2019s refusal to deliver Taurus missiles is controversial, even within his own three-party coalition with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
\n\u201cWe must supply Ukraine with significantly more air defense, ammunition and long-range weapons,\u201d said the Greens\u2019 European MP Anton Hofreiter.
\n\u201cRestrictions on the range of weapons supplied do not contribute to de-escalation but rather enable further Russian attacks.\u201d
\nThe FDP\u2019s defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann told the same newspaper: \u201cI very much hope that Zelensky will make it clear to the Chancellor once again that if Ukraine loses this war, this will not be the last war in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Kyiv\u2019s presidency said Friday, the final leg of his whirlwind tour of European leaders. The plane carrying Zelensky has landed, the Ukrainian presidency told AFP. The Ukrainian leader has been seeking fresh military and financial aid from his European allies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436770,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-436744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n