Their visits came ahead of Kyiv's first Defence Industries Forum, where Ukrainian officials were set to meet representatives from over 160 defence firms and 26 countries.

"I've been back to Kyiv this week to ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky what he needs to win," UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said on his first trip to the Ukrainian capital in that role.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu is expected to hold talks with Zelensky and his new Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

"We know that this war is going to last... We must ensure that tomorrow we continue to be reliable in our aid to Ukraine," Lecornu said, after laying flowers at a memorial to Ukraine's fallen soldiers.

Both Britain and France have supplied Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles which the Kremlin says can be used to strike Russian territory.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked for more Western arms, including longer-range weapons, to regain occupied territory.

Kyiv launched its counter-offensive in June but has acknowledged slow progress as its forces encounter lines of heavily fortified Russian defences.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who also visited Kyiv on Thursday, said Ukraine was slowly clawing back territory from Russian forces.

"Every metre that Ukrainian forces regain is a metre that Russia loses," he said.