Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that only transatlantic unity could eventually stop the war in Ukraine and lead to peace amid a change of administrations in the United States.
Zelenskiy is meeting with EU leaders in Brussels on December 19 to seek fresh support amid concerns that President-elect Donald Trump could pull U.S. support for Kyiv after he returns to the White House next month.
"I think only together the United States and Europe can really stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and save Ukraine," Zelenskiy said as he arrived to the summit.
"We need this unity to achieve peace. For us, it's very important, especially from the very beginning of next year, we need very much unity between the United States and EU and countries of Europe," Zelenskiy said.
The meeting come as Ukrainian cities and infrastructure continue to sustain regular Russian drone and missile strikes while outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces are facing increasing difficulties in staving off Russia's increasingly rapid advance in the east.
The EU leaders and Zelenskiy are to reaffirm their "unwavering commitment" to supporting Ukraine "for as long as it takes," according to draft conclusions seen by Reuters.
"Russia must not prevail," the EU draft conclusions say. The bloc's leaders also stress that no decision must be made on Ukraine's fate without Kyiv's involvement.
Zelenskiy on December 18 met in Brussels with NATO chief Mark Rutte and a group of European leaders who seek to develop their own plans if Trump, who has pledged to bring a swift end to the conflict, pulls support or forces Kyiv to make concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a cease-fire.
Organized by Rutte, the meeting involves officials from Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the European Union's main institutions.
The key topic of Zelenskiy's meeting with Rutte was security guarantees, Zelenskiy's office said.
"It is very important to use these two days in Brussels to meet with all our partners and have the same, and very importantly, not divided -- the same -- common European position on how to secure Ukraine, how to strengthen our people and, of course, make our army stronger," Zelenskiy said, according to a statement released by his office.
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Strengthening Ukrainian air defense especially ahead of the winter was a key topic during Zelenskiy's meeting with Rutte, according to the statement from Zelenskiy's office.
Zelenskiy is expected to again plead for more air-defense systems to try to help stave off Russian barrages against Ukraine's power grid.
"We have to do everything we can now to make sure that when it comes to air defense, when it comes to other weapons systems, we are doing everything we can to provide everything we can," Rutte said.
Rutte said Kyiv's allies should focus on ramping up arms supplies to ensure that Ukraine is in a position of strength.
Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukrainian regions with 85 drones early on December 19, Ukraine's air force said, adding that 45 drones were shot down while the other 40 were derailed by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems that jammed their navigation systems.
The air force said the attack targeted 10 Ukrainian regions -- Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Khmelnytskiy, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolayiv.
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Russia also launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and an Kh-59/69 guided missile during the attack, the air force said.
The missile strikes damaged private homes and apartment buildings in the Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions, with no casualties or injuries reported.
The Ukrainian General Staff separately said that it has struck an oil refinery in Russia's Rostov region.
"Damage was inflicted to the infrastructure and production facilities of NovoshakhtinskO il Products Plant located in the Rostov Region of the Russian Federation," the General Staff said in a statement, adding that the refinery supplied Russia's military.
Rostov's acting governor Yuriy Slyusar said that the region "suffered a massive attack" using 30 drones and three missiles. Russia's Rostov region has repeatedly been targeted by Ukraine.
Separately, Russian officials said Ukraine struck Russia with at least 13 missiles and 84 drones.
In recent months, Ukraine has increased the number of drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and fuel depots that work for Moscow's military.