Western allies were set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Ramstein air base in southwestern Germany on Thursday.

"The key priority is to continue strengthening our air defense systems and to ensure we can at least push Russian military aviation away from our cities and borders," Zelenskyy wrote on X ahead of the gathering.

As the summit got underway, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a fresh tranche of $500 million (€484.8 million) in military aid, which would include air defense missiles, air-to-ground ammunition and equipment for F-16 fighter jets.

Trump looms large over meeting

The meeting will be the last such summit before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20. Thus, it has been seen as an important push to secure aid for Kyiv as Trump has indicated that he may not be as sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause as President Joe Biden.

However, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said that allies should "expect Trump to balance diplomacy and deterrence" in Ukraine, and not assume he would abandon Kyiv.

Meloni made a surprise visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in Florida earlier this week.

Zelenskyy alluded to the upcoming change in Washington, telling the gathered representatives of some 50 countries: "It's clear that a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world... just 11 days from now, a time when we have to cooperate even more, rely on one another even more, and achieve even greater results together."

"I see this as a time of opportunities," he said.

Biden's secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, was expected to present the details of the massive new aid package at the meeting. Under Biden, the US has been Ukraine's biggest financial backer, sending funds and equipment totaling $65 billion.

Trump has promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine swiftly but has not presented any concrete policy proposals for doing so.

"It's real important for the entire coalition to continue to provide military aid. Now, the US has led this effort, and hopefully... will continue to do so, because it's not over," Austin said upon arrival at Ramstein.

Fighting ramps up in Zaporizhzhia

Russia and Ukraine have been trading increasingly intense drone strikes ahead of Trump's inauguration as they both seek to shore up their military position ahead of a potential change in US policy.

On Thursday, Russia was still battling a blaze started by a Ukrainian strike a day earlier that targeted an oil depot used by the country's airforce in the Saratov region. At the same time, the Ukrainian military said it had shot down 46 Russian drones overnight.

According to the governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, at least 133 people were killed in the area due to a Russian glide bomb attack.

es/lo (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)