Zelensky later announced that he had received assurances from Washington that military aid to Ukraine would remain “continuous and uninterrupted”.
“It was made clear that the United States will continue to provide Ukraine with the sustained and uninterrupted support it needs to defend itself,” he said in his daily address.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had announced a new tranche of weapons worth $200 million to Kiev, including air defense missiles, to help Ukraine defend against an expected winter attack by Russia.
“Make no mistake,” Austin said at the start of a meeting with Ukraine’s international supporters. “The United States will stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary.”
The latest arms package from Washington is the first to be announced as turmoil in the US Congress has cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s ability to retain support.
The Ukrainian president recently expressed concern that the crisis in Israel could distract from the war started by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his homeland nearly 600 days ago.
Zelensky said, “Who knows what it will be like? I think no one knows.”
But Austin stressed that “the United States will continue to be able to project power and direct resources to address crises in multiple theaters.
“We will stand firmly with Israel as we continue to support Ukraine,” he said.
Zelensky urged the West to rally behind the Israeli people as Kiev’s supporters did for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion last year, and show them they are not “alone.”
“Terrorists like Putin or Hamas want to hold free and democratic countries hostage and they want to take over people who want freedom,” Zelensky said.
“Terrorists will not change. They must simply lose.”
‘Winter Battle’
Zelensky underlined the importance of air defense to protect Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure as the country prepares to repeat Moscow’s bombing campaign last winter.
“Dear friends, we must win the winter war against terror,” he told supporters in Kiev.
Israel’s defense minister was set to brief his NATO counterparts by video-link on Thursday.
The crisis in Israel comes as the White House struggles to find a way to continue arms supplies to Ukraine after difficulties in the US Congress.
Biden has tried to calm jitters among allies over Washington’s support for Kiev after new aid was removed from a deal in the US Congress to avoid a government shutdown this month.
Since Moscow launched its all-out invasion last year, the United States has provided Ukraine with as much military support on its own as all European NATO members and Canada combined.
Western NATO diplomats are insisting that there is no danger of arms supplies to Ukraine being stopped in the near future.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “We must increase and maintain the steady flow of arms and ammunition to Ukraine.”
Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren stressed, “The war in Ukraine is our focus, and Ukraine has our full support”.
Ukraine is pushing to become a member of NATO to ensure its long-term security in the face of Moscow’s ambitions.
At a summit this summer, coalition leaders eased Kiev’s path to joining, but gave Ukraine no explicit invitation or deadline to become a member.