Touching on Russia's defeat, President Zelensky: It's Time For Us To Decide The End Of This War

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday Kyiv and his Western backers could make Russia's defeat in the war in Ukraine "irreversible" earlier this year, and thanked Germany for being a "true friend" during a visit to Berlin.

President Zelensky received heavy military support on his visit, with the German government announcing 2.7 billion euros (USD 3 billion) in military aid to Ukraine on Saturday, the largest package since Russia's invasion in February last year.

"Now is the time for us to determine the end of the war this year, we can make the defeat of the aggressor irreversible this year," he said in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Scholz underlined Germany's pledge to continue supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary, setting aside questions about previous tensions in bilateral relations and setting aside other questions about Kyiv's hopes of joining NATO.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, faced criticism early in the war for what some have called a hesitant response, but it has become one of Ukraine's largest providers of financial and military aid.

It is known that Ukraine is expected to launch a major counter-offensive operation in the coming weeks, to try to retake its eastern and southern territories from Russian troops.