Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky discusses defence needs with German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Germany on Tuesday for "new defence decisions" taken at the start of this year, and said he and Germany's president had discussed "the necessity of increasing defence support" for Kyiv.

"Thank you for the comprehensive assistance ... that made our army stronger, for the financial support," Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app following a video call with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"During the meeting in the format of a video conference ... we discussed the situation on the frontline, the necessity of increasing defence support for Ukraine, the diplomatic process on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula."