The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called on NATO countries to put pressure on Russia if it does not agree to the peace terms that Kiev will present this fall.

During a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Zelensky called on Western countries to help organize the joint production of weapons on Ukrainian territory, including drones and missiles.

The regular meetings at Ramstein were designed to coordinate military aid to Kiev.

"To achieve this, we need financial resources - we are ready to quickly produce everything that will help us end this war, that is, to put decisive pressure on Russia for real peace," said Zelensky.

"Let's end Russian aggression this fall - in a way that ends the war and restores a credible international security order," he added.

Austin said weapons production is extremely important, saying the US is "working with Ukraine to design and build a replacement for the S-300 surface-to-air missile system and the R-27 air-to-air missile." Washington has allocated more than $200 million to buy "critical components" to enable Ukraine to produce drones and electronic warfare systems, he said.

Kiev has suffered further battlefield setbacks in recent months, with Russian troops steadily advancing into the Donbass and the city of Pokrovsk.

Hoping to force Moscow to withdraw most of its troops from the Donbass, Ukraine invaded Russia's Kursk region on August 6, seizing several villages and the border town of Suja. The progress of the Russian forces did not stop, however.

By sending its best-equipped and most experienced units to Kursk, the Ukrainian army has "weakened" its positions on other fronts, Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week. He added that the Russian forces only increased the pressure in Donbas.

Peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv broke down in the spring of 2022. Moscow has since announced that Zelensky's demand to return Ukraine's borders to those of 1991 is completely unacceptable.