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U.S. President Joe Biden and the leaders of Germany, France and Britain pledged Friday to keep up support for Ukraine and condemned "Russia's continued war of aggression".

After meeting in Berlin, the four leaders in a joint statement "reiterated their resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace".

Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said they had "discussed their plans to provide Ukraine with additional security, economic and humanitarian assistance".

The leaders met on the day Biden made his farewell visit to Germany just weeks before U.S. election.

As Ukraine faces a third winter at war amid battlefield losses in the east, Kyiv and its allies fear a potential return of Donald Trump to the White House that would likely mean reduced U.S. military support.

"We're headed into a very difficult winter. We cannot let up," Biden said.

In another worrying development for Ukraine, North Korea has decided to send a "large-scale" troop deployment to support Moscow's war, according to Seoul's spy agency. It said 1,500 special forces were already in eastern Russia undergoing training.

On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his "victory plan" to the European Union and NATO, but his allies have not agreed to his request for immediate NATO membership.

Washington and London have also rejected Ukrainian requests for clearance to use donated long-range weapons against targets inside Russia. Berlin has also refused to send its own long-range Taurus missile system.

"We are supporting Ukraine as powerfully as we can," Scholz said. "And at the same time we are making sure that NATO does not become a party to the...