Russia Ukraine war: Biden says Putin ‘will not prevail’ in meeting with Zelensky

US president Joe Biden has insisted that Ukraine will win the war against Russia, after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart at the White House in Washington.

“We stand with Ukraine, now and in the future,” Mr Biden said alongside Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

“Russia will not prevail. Ukraine will prevail.”

Ukraine should be able to freely use arms it has been provided, Lithuania’s foreign minister has said.

The minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said he hoped Kyiv would be able to shoot further into Russia with weapons Washington announced it would deliver to Ukraine. Kyiv’s allies in Nato are deliberating sending long-range missiles to Ukraine which can be used to strike Russia, which routinely strikes Ukraine with its own ballistic and cruise missiles.

“The strategic goal that puts Ukraine in the strongest possible position requires to allow them to use the weaponry freely,” Landsbergis said. Arming Ukraine is one thing, but it is not very efficient if Kyiv is not allowed to use the arms, Mr Landsbergis told Reuters.

“I’m reading president Biden’s statement, and I’m seeing that there is a new type of rockets that are being delivered that are longer-range than the previous ones,” Mr Landsbergis said.

“My hope is that it’s not a rocket that they should shoot from afar, from a distance to the front, that they would be allowed to use those rockets and shoot further out.”

He also confirmed Lithuania’s support of including Ukraine in Nato’s common defence area. “It has to happen,” Mr Landsbergis said. “If you’re saying that, OK, we want Ukraine in a safe, secure position, without the risk that they will be attacked, you have to answer how. And, honestly, it’s not rocket science.”

Russian forces repeatedly shelled a settlement west of the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson yesterday, killing one person and wounding another, the region’s governor said.

The casualty included a woman who died when Russian forces hit the village of Tomyna Balka six times, said Vyacheslav Prokudin, governor of Kherson region, still partly held by Russian forces.

Outside Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv, a strike by Russian multiple rocket launchers triggered a fire engulfing at least six homes in the town of Slatyne, local official Vyacheslav Zadorenko said.

Zadorenko said emergency services were tackling the blaze and trying to establish whether any residents were trapped under rubble. Kharkiv, located 30km (18 miles) from the border, has been a frequent target of Russian attacks.

The Kremlin said that the changes to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine outlined by Vladimir Putin should be considered a signal to Western countries that there will be consequences if they participate in attacks on Russia.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said adjustments to a document called “The Foundations of State Policy in the Sphere of Nuclear Deterrence” had been formulated.

Asked by reporters if the changes were a signal to the West, Mr Peskov said: “This should be considered a definite signal.”

“This is a signal that warns these countries about the consequences if they participate in an attack on our country by various means, and not necessarily nuclear ones,” Mr Peskov said.

The world, Mr Peskov said, was witness to an “unprecedented confrontation” which he said was provoked by the “direct involvement of Western countries, including nuclear powers” in the Ukraine war.

US president Joe Biden said the US would strengthen Ukraine’s position in future negotiations by expediting funding during his term, which ends in January.

Before meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, Mr Biden said the US would deal with Ukraine’s future defence needs.

He said he planned to convene a meeting with other world leaders focused on Ukraine’s defence during a visit to Germany next month.

A look at the latest military aid going to Ukraine:

US vice-president Kamala Harris said calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia were “dangerous and unacceptable” as she met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The comments from the Democratic nominee for president were thinly veiled criticism of suggestions from Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, that Ukraine should quickly cut a deal to end the war.

“They are not proposals for peace,” Ms Harris said. “Instead they are proposals for surrender.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has spoken of the many friends his country has in Washington, “who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukrainians in the fight for freedom and independence” after meeting senators from both US parties.