U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to continue giving military aid to Ukraine after a visit from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Biden approved delivery of the Patriot surface-to-air missile battery to Ukraine as part of a new tranche of security assistance totaling about $1.8 billion. The weapons package, according to a list from the Pentagon, also included "precision aerial munitions," which would transform the unguided "dumb" bombs into "smart" bombs by the addition of fins and a precision guidance system.

Russia dismissed the military aid with President Vladimir Putin saying the Patriot system is "quite old" and Moscow would find a way to counter it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that Ukraine acquiring Patriot missiles from the U.S. would not help settle the conflict or prevent Moscow from achieving its goals. 

Putin also said Russia wants an end to the conflict with Ukraine, saying Russia's goal is not to "spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war. We will strive for an end to this, and the sooner the better, of course." 

He has said several times that Russia is open to negotiations, but Ukraine and its allies suspect this is a ploy to buy time for Russia.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Putin had shown no indication he wanted to end the conflict, and added that the Russian president "wants to continue to visit violence upon the Ukrainian people (and) escalate the war."

More U.S. military aid for Ukraine

Zelenskyy, during his visit to Washington, told the U.S. Congress that the Patriot system was an important step in creating an air shield. He invoked battles against the Nazis in World War Two to press for more U.S. assistance to help Ukraine defend itself, saying just one such item is not enough for Ukraine.

In his address to U.S. lawmakers, Zelenskyy requested more weapons from the U.S. "We have artillery, yes, thank you. Is it enough? Honestly, not really," he said.

Zelenskyy made a plea for bipartisan support as Republicans, some of whom have voiced increasing skepticism about sending so much aid to Ukraine, are set to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats on January 3.

With a vote scheduled in the House of Representatives on Friday, Congress moved closer to approve the "Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023," which will provide Ukraine with $45 billion in emergency assistance, part of a wider $1.7 trillion U.S. government spending bill through the fiscal year 2023.

The $45 billion represents the biggest infusion of Washington's aid to Kyiv, surpassing the White House's request to Congress last month ($37 billion). And that is on top of some $50 billion already sent to Ukraine this year.

Biden stressed that the U.S. is committed to ensuring that Ukraine continues to have the ability to defend itself for "as long as it takes" during the press conference.

Has Russia received weapons from DPRK and Iran?

The White House said on Thursday that a private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, took delivery last month of infantry rockets and missiles from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine.

Britain said it reached the same conclusion, but Wagner's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, dismissed the talk as "gossip and speculation." The DPRK's Foreign Ministry also denied the reports, calling them "groundless."

In his speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Zelenskyy made repeated claims about Iran, accusing it of sending suicide drones to Russia for use in the conflict in Ukraine.

Iran has repeatedly rejected the allegations as "baseless." The country reiterated on Thursday that it had sent no military hardware to any side in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, according to a statement published by its foreign ministry.

"Iran has always respected the territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine," said spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, who warned Zelenskyy that "there is a limit to Iran's patience with such baseless accusations."

On the battleground, Ukraine has come under repeated Russian aerial strikes targeting its energy infrastructure, leaving millions without power or running water in the winter season.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook on Thursday that fighting in Donetsk remained focused on Bakhmut and Avdiivka, about 90 kilometers south of it. Since August, Bakhmut, an industrial town with a pre-war population of some 70,000 in the Donetsk region, is a frontline city witnessing fierce, costly and extended fights.

Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Thursday the frontline in Ukraine was stable, and that Moscow's forces had concentrated on "completing the liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic."

(With input from Reuters and Xinhua)