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President Biden welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House Thursday. Mr. Biden vowed more aid to Ukraine and announced that he had directed the Defense Department to allocate all remaining security assistance appropriated for Ukraine before his term ends. Mara Karlin, former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plan and capabilities, joins CBS News to discuss.

STORY: BIDEN: "We stand with Ukraine now and in the future." U.S. President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in additional aid to Ukraine during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Washington D.C. ZELENSKIY: "We have a strong security agreement with United States, and we are grateful for it and we will fully implement it." The aid will include the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb, a medium-range missile that gives Ukraine a major weapons upgrade. It'll also provide the country additional air defense, unmanned aerial systems and air-to-ground munitions. JOURNALIST: 'Mr. President, can you bring an end to this war?' ZELENSKIY: "Of course we have to." Earlier, Zelenskiy was at the Capitol to meet with Democratic and Republican lawmakers. The Ukrainian president has faced rising criticism from some Republicans leaders, including presidential candidate Donald Trump: TRUMP ON WEDNESDAY: "Take a look at the war happening right now in Ukraine. It would have never happened if I were president to start off with.” Trump said on he would meet with Zelenskiy on Friday in New York. This after telling a campaign rally in North Carolina this week: "We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal." In the 2-1/2 years since Russia began its full-scale invasion, Congress has approved nearly $175 billion of aid and military assistance for Ukraine and allied nations. Many lawmakers say they expect Washington will need to approve more money to help Kyiv within the next several months.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, pledging billions in aid for the country’s war against Russia.

Vice President Kamala Harris says calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia were "dangerous and unacceptable" as she met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.

Former U.S. President and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump made several claims about the war in Ukraine during a speech in North Carolina. Among other claims, he said President Joe Biden had "egged it all on", and that Biden was "not going to be satisfied until they send American kids over to Ukraine".

STORY: :: Vladimir Putin says Russia could use nuclear weapons if it's struck with conventional missiles :: September 25, 2024 :: Moscow, Russia "The updated version of the document proposes that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear-weapon state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear-weapon state, should be regarded as a joint attack on the Russian Federation. The conditions for Russia's transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly defined. We will consider such a possibility as soon as we receive reliable information about a massive launch of aerospace attack means and their crossing of our state border, meaning strategic or tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic missiles and other aircraft." "We reserve the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus as a member of the Union State. All these issues have been agreed upon with the Belarusian side and with the President of Belarus. This includes cases when the enemy, using conventional weapons, poses a critical threat to our sovereignty." The decision to change Russia's official nuclear doctrine is the Kremlin's answer to deliberations in the United States and Britain about whether or not to give Ukraine permission to fire conventional Western missiles into Russia. Putin, opening a meeting of Russia's Security Council, said that the changes were in response to a swiftly changing global landscape which had thrown up new threats and risks for Russia. The 71-year-old Kremlin chief, the primary decision-maker on Russia's vast nuclear arsenal, said he wanted to underscore one key change in particular. "It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation," Putin said.

Ukraine’s president is urging global leaders to stand with his country and not seek a lull instead of a “real, just peace.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the U.N. General Assembly over two years into Russia’s war in his country.

STORY: On Tuesday Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the UN Security Council (September 24) that the war with Russia cannot be resolved through dialogue alone and that Moscow must be forced into peace. "Putin has broken so many international norms and rules that he won't stop on his own. Russia can only be forced into peace and that is exactly what's needed. Forcing Russia into peace as the sole aggressor in this war, the sole violator of the U.N. Charter. // Our Ukrainian right to self-defense must prevail. Our cooperation with nations of the world who value life as we do, our territorial integrity, our sovereignty, the independence of our country." Ukraine faces an uncertain future. Right now it relies heavily on U.S. military and financial support. A victory for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in November's U.S. presidential election could prompt a reset of Washington's policy on Ukraine. Zelenskiy again mentioned a "victory plan" he plans to show both candidates for ending the conflict. He has revealed little about it beyond saying it would lead to a second Ukraine-led summit for peace by the end of the year that Russia would be invited to. However, he has said that if his plan is backed by the West, it could significantly impact Moscow, including in a psychological way that could help compel Putin to end the war diplomatically. During the the summit on Tuesday, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia spoke up to reject the 15-member council's hosting of Zelenskiy. There was also a clash between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over allegations of Chinese support for Russia’s war efforts.

STORY: :: A world-renowned Ukrainian artist paints vibrant wartime murals in Kyiv :: September 20, 2024 :: Kyiv, Ukraine :: Volodymyr Manzhos, Ukrainian artist :: "I thought that being an artist during the war was inappropriate and unnecessary. But eventually, I also understood that intelligent people in Ukraine understand that culture is always important, especially now, during the war." :: "My art is too far from what reality is. I realized that it's my trademark. Reality can be too cruel, too depressive. My works have therapeutic benefits for the artist as well as the spectator. One can feel the war everywhere daily, in the news. There is nowhere to hide from the news." :: September 21, 2024 For over two weeks, Manzhos tirelessly painted his new mural that is a tribute to the work done by Ukrainian GUR military intelligence service. The artwork painted in vibrant colors in downtown Kyiv depicts an owl (a symbol of GUR), a Ukrainian maritime drone and the Russian missile cruiser Moskva. In 2022, Ukraine said the Moskva was sunk after a missile strike launched by its forces from the coast. In 2024, Ukraine has stepped up attacks in the Black Sea and on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014. The GUR special units using maritime drones are understood to have been responsible for some of these attacks. According to Manzhos, the colors of the mural showing a yellow sky combined with dark-blue sea refers to the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag and hints that the events depicted are happening in the Black Sea. Manzhos’ latest work is the fourth in the series of wartime murals called “Time for Change.” The first one adorns a wall in India and was painted in 2014 when Russia occupied eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions and annexed Crimea. Since then, the artist has created two more murals, both in central Kyiv. Manzhos' murals can be found in Germany, Canada, France, Poland, United States and other countries. In 2024, he created an art installation for Hermes shop windows in Osaka international airport.

STORY: Father Ioann Burdin served as a priest in the Russian village of Karabanovo for years, until the outbreak of war in Ukraine. But now he is a convicted heretic, banned from conducting services and hounded from his parish. In spring 2022, Burdin denounced the conflict in a sermon to his parishioners and in comments online, saying Christians could not stand by "when a brother kills a brother." He was fined for "discrediting the Russian army," and banned from conducting services by a Russian Orthodox Church court. That same church convicted him of "heretical" pacifism and of undermining trust in Patriarch Kirill, head of the church and a close Kremlin ally. But speaking to Reuters at an undisclosed location in Russia, Father Burdin said he stands by his comments and that they invoke the Biblical injunction against murder. "For me, a priest can play only one role in a war. It is when he steps forward between the two warring parties and tells them: “Just come to your senses! What are you doing?!” We are all Christians, and we should not kill each other. There was Cain who killed his brother Abel. Any murderer, despite his best intentions, bears Cain’s sin. Even if you kill protecting somebody, it is the Cain’s sin.” The Church hierarchy is strongly loyal to the Kremlin and has thrown its support behind Russia's war effort, ordering priests since September 2022 to recite a special prayer for victory during services. Burdin is among dozens of priests punished for opposing the conflict, according to Christians against War, an online group uniting believers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. He has contemplated becoming a priest in Bulgaria, but decided to remain in Russia as he feels he is needed there. Despite being banned, he said he continues to see himself as a priest and a servant of God. “It is not correct to say that a priest banned from serving in a temple has lost his ability to serve at all. My wife and I discussed the ban to serve. We were sitting at the table and our daughter, then 12, was there, too, and listened to us. She asked who can prohibit a person to serve God. I was very much impressed by her words. A 12-year-old child can be a preacher and a priest. And I thought, who indeed can ban a person from serving God.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the U.N. Summit for the Future on Monday and urged nations to hold Russia accountable for what he called "its terror." Russia proposed an amendment that would have significantly watered down the U.N.'s "Pact for the Future," but only six other countries supported it.

STORY: :: Zelenskiy urges support for Ukraine during a speech to the U.N. :: September 23, 2024 :: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian President “Putin has stolen much already, but he will never steal the world's future. I'm sure.” // "We are now preparing for the second summit, moving forward with our partners, step by step, according to the peace formula. And we are working on full security, energy security, and holding Russia accountable for its terror. Next, we will address all other points of the peace formula, including the release of prisoners, the restoration of territorial integrity, and more. And we are preparing a document to present at the second peace summit. I invite all leaders, nations to continue supporting our joint efforts for a just and peaceful future." A Russian missile strike on Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday (September 23) hit critical infrastructure and injured at least two people after attacks on the city late on Sunday wounded 21, regional authorities said. Russia denies targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. “The world needs a peaceful future and sustainable development - and I say this as a president of Ukraine, a country resisting Russia's brutal colonial aggression,” said Zelenskiy.

STORY: :: Residents survey the damage after Ukraine says several civilians are injured in Russian air strikes on Zaporizhzhia :: Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine :: September 23, 2024 :: We just went to bed, both me and my son. All of a sudden the explosion happened. All windows in our flat were blown off, including the balcony window frame. One window landed on my son, he’s under severe stress, he’s shaken, and he has cuts on his head from the shattered glass." Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia dealt at least seven air strikes to the city and the surrounding district, damaging 13 apartment buildings, educational institutions, cars, garages and private residences. Fedorov said on Telegram that in total, Russia conducted 363 air and ground strikes in the past day on 12 settlements in the broader Zaporizhzhia region of which the Zaporizhzhia city is the administrative center. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks, but thousands of civilians have been killed - the vast majority of them Ukrainians - in the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is gambling that his surprise attack into Russia can convince Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the 2½-year-old war which has produced an estimated one million casualties. But Putin's forces continue to rely on the sheer weight of numbers to grind Ukraine down, and Zelenskyy must depend on America's deeply divided politics for the aid which he needs to stave off Russian assaults on his front lines and air attacks against his cities. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin talks with former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Miley about the stakes.