Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Zelensky calls for more military supplies

MOSCOW/KIEV, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday urged defense leaders attending a meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to speed up the supply of weapons to Ukraine, the presidential press service reported.

"We must speed up. Time must become our common weapon, just like air defense, artillery, armored vehicles and tanks," Zelensky said while addressing the meeting via video link.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday assessed the Ukrainian crisis as developing in an upward spiral.

"We see a growing indirect and sometimes direct involvement of NATO countries in this conflict," Peskov told a daily briefing, adding that the supplies of heavy weapons to Ukraine will not be able to fundamentally change anything but worsen problems for Kiev and the Ukrainian people.

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The United States on Thursday announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine, including hundreds of armored vehicles and support for Ukraine's air defense.

Zelensky on Friday welcomed the decision and thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for the aid worth 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.

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Russia-U.S. relations are now probably at their lowest point ever and there is no hope for an improvement in the foreseeable future, Peskov said on Friday.

During the Biden presidency, despite the initial slim hope associated with the Geneva summit between the two presidents, bilateral ties have been very bad, he told a daily briefing.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday in Minsk that he had exchanged views with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the situation in Ukraine.

He said that Moscow and Minsk have "a common position on the goals that must be achieved" to ensure the security of both countries.