RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany, Sept 7, (AP): Ukraine needs the ability to strike deep within Russia now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told US and allied military leaders Friday as Kyiv more fervently pressed the West to loosen weapons use restrictions and allow it to target Russian air bases and launch sites far from the border.

Zelenskyy made the case during an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He appeared to make inroads with some of the defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for the war. But he did not appear to sway the ally he needs most.

After the talks, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed back on the idea that long-range strikes would be a game-changer. "I don’t believe one capability is going to be decisive and I stand by that comment,” Austin said. The Ukrainians have other means to strike long-range targets, he said. Zelenskyy's request comes after a series of recent deadly Russian airstrikes, including against a Ukrainian military training center that killed more than 50 and wounded hundreds this week.

On Friday, the Kremlin fired five ballistic missiles at the city of Pavlohrad in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring at least 50 people, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said. "We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” Zelenskyy said. "We need to make Russian cities and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or Putin.”