Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said a "victory plan" he wants to present to US President Joe Biden this month would strengthen Ukraine and have a "psychological" impact that could push Russia to end its war diplomatically.
Speaking at Ukraine's annual Crimean Platform event, Mr Zelensky said it was important that Ukraine presented the plan to its allies before a second international summit on peace that he wants to hold later this year.
"As for the plan for victory... it depends mostly on the support of the United States. And other partners," Mr Zelensky said.
"If partners support it (the plan), it will make it easier for Ukraine to force Russia to end the war," he said.
"What is this plan for? It is a serious strengthening of Ukraine and, in my opinion, it will have both psychological and political... influence on Russia's decision to end this war."
Mr Zelensky first spoke of the plan last month, saying he wanted to discuss it with Mr Biden and his two potential successors after the US presidential election in November.
Mr Zelensky is expected to travel to the United Nations General Assembly later this month.
His remarks come just under two months before US elections that could be challenging for Ukraine if Donald Trump is back in the White House.
Aides for Mr Trump have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Ukraine into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.
US, UK and Ukraine hold talks in Kyiv
Mr Zelensky's remarks come as top diplomats from the US and Britain vowed to work together for Ukraine's victory as they discussed further easing rules on firing Western weapons into Russia, whose alleged acquisition of Iranian missiles has raised new fears.
In a rare joint trip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the nine-hour train from Poland to Kyiv alongside UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, whose two-month-old Labour government has vowed to keep up Britain's role as a key defender of Ukraine.
At three-way talks with their Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Blinken said the visit sent a "strong message that we are committed to Ukraine's success, committed to Ukraine's victory".
Mr Lammy also promised British support until the war of "Russian imperialism and aggression come to an end" and called attacks that have killed Ukrainians "horrific, barbaric, unbelievable".
"The only person that gains from any sense that we are not together" is Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Lammy said.
Paying his fifth visit to Kyiv since Russia's invasion, Mr Blinken dropped by a celebrated restaurant to sample borscht, a Ukrainian national dish.
The trip comes at a fraught time for Ukraine, with Russia advancing on the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region and a month after Ukraine launched a shock counter-offensive into Russia's Kursk region.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky has ramped up his requests over recent months to the West to provide weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.
US President Joe Biden, asked in Washington whether he would let Ukraine use longer-range weapons for strikes on Russian targets, said: "We're working that out right now."
Mr Biden, while strongly supportive of Ukraine, has previously made clear he wants to avoid devolving into direct conflict between the United States and Russia, the world's two leading nuclear powers.
Mr Blinken, speaking in London alongside Mr Lammy, said the United States was committed to providing Ukraine with "what they need when they need it to be most effective in dealing with the Russian aggression".
Asked how Russia would respond to such a development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the response "will be appropriate," without providing specific details.
He said the authorisation of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory would serve as "further proof" of why Russia launched its offensive, which he said was itself an "answer" to the West's support for Ukraine.
Ukraine enjoyed a fresh boost late yesterday when the International Monetary Fund said it reached a staff-level agreement that could open the door to $1.1 billion for the country, which is weathering Russian attacks on infrastructure as winter sets in.
But on the military front, the United States said it believes that Russia could start firing short-range Iranian-made missiles into Ukraine within weeks.
Cash-strapped Iran went ahead with the sale of the missiles despite repeated warnings from Western powers, which yesterday announced new sanctions on the cleric-run state.
The Iranian shipments have raised fears that Moscow would be freed up to use its long-range missiles against comparatively unscathed areas in western Ukraine.
The United States earlier this year gave its blessing for Ukraine to use Western weapons to hit Russian forces when in direct conflict across the border.
British media reports said Mr Biden, who meets Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday, was set to end objections to letting Ukraine fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.
Britain has repeatedly pushed the United States, by far Ukraine's biggest military supplier, to be more forward on weapons.
One key ask by Ukraine is to loosen restrictions on US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which can hit targets up to 300km away.
In a joint letter to Mr Biden, leading members of Congress from the rival Republican Party asked him to act on ATACMS immediately.
"As long as it is conducting its brutal, full-scale war of aggression, Russia must not be given a sanctuary from which it can execute its war crimes against Ukraine with impunity," said the letter signed by Representative Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Republicans, however, are deeply divided over Ukraine, and a victory in November by Republican Mr Trump over Mr Biden's political heir Kamala Harris could dramatically shift US policy.
Trump aides have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Ukraine into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.
