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

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Volodymyr Zelensky has  dismissed the notion of peace talks with Moscow, calling instead for unspecified global “action” to force Russia into peace.

He told the UN Security Council that Vladimir Putin is committing “an international crime” and has broken so many international rules that he won’t stop on his own.

"And that's why this war can't simply fade away. That's why this war can't be calmed by talks," Zelenskyy said at a meeting.

"Russia can only be forced into peace, and that is exactly what's needed — forcing Russia into peace as the sole aggressor in this war, the sole violator of the UN Charter."

Ukraine’s desire to use western missiles to strike targets in Russia will not be the “sole issue” in Volodymyr Zelensky’s “victory plan”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Sir Keir is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where Mr Zelensky will present his plan for the next stage of the war to his allies.

The PM said: “I do think it’s going to take quite a bit of time at the UN General Assembly. And I think that’s really important, because it’s at a critical stage.

“Obviously, President Zelensky has a plan that he wants to walk through with all of us – we knew that was going to happen.

“The support for Ukraine is resolute. We supply quite a lot of capability already under the last government; we’ve increased that under this government – that’s not a criticism of the last government – and we will always listen very carefully to what Ukraine says it needs by way of capability.

“I don’t think that will be a discussion, I don’t think the victory plan will be about a sole issue like long-range missiles, it will be about a strategic, overarching route for Ukraine to find a way through this and succeed against Russian aggression.”

When pressed on Storm Shadows, he said: “We will have discussions about a whole range of issues, and we will listen carefully to what President Zelensky’s got to say, and that’s what’s going to happen in the next few days.”

Russian forces have taken control of the town of Ukrainsk in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region, state news agency TASS said, citing local Russian-installed governor Denis Pushilin.

The Independent could not verify this claim.

The United States will sign a $920million (£687million) direct loan agreement with Romania to support its defence modernisation program, the Romanian government has said.

The deal comes as Romania seeks to boost its defence purchasing plan following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Romania, a member of NATO and the European Union, aims to spend 2.5 per cent of its GDP on defence.

Romania shares a 650-km (400-mile) border with Ukraine and Russian drone fragments have repeatedly strayed into its territory over the past year. Some areas are also close to Ukraine's Danube River ports which are frequently targeted by Russia.

Under the loan agreement, the defence ministry will directly access $700 million, while up to $220 million will go towards state-owned ROMARM, which controls 15 companies that manufacture weapons and ammunition ranging from gunpowder to guided missiles.