Russia is vowing to ramp up production of tanks and other weapons, to counter Ukraine's bid for more Western military aid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Belgium on Thursday, following his trip to Britain and France. He attended a European Union summit and asked for fighter jets and longer-range missiles.

The deputy chief of Russia's Security Council criticized Zelenskyy's request for aid. Dmitry Medvedev is a former president of Russia.

During a visit to a regional arms factory on Thursday, Medvedev said, "Our enemy was begging for aircraft, missiles and tanks on a trip abroad."

Medvedev said Russia will naturally increase the output of various types of weapons and military equipment, including modern tanks. He said, "We are talking about production and modernization of thousands of tanks."

The US-based Institute for the Study of War said in its assessment on Thursday that Russia has lost many battle tanks in Ukraine.

It said the Russian military needs to quickly replace the tanks, ahead of what will likely be an increased pace of offensive operations in eastern Ukraine.

In Russia, a state-run news agency said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin may deliver a speech at a rally in Moscow on February 22.

Quoting parliamentary sources, the report said 200,000 people could attend the rally to be held in a stadium.

Earlier, the state-run Tass news agency and leading daily Vedomosti said Putin could deliver his annual state of the nation address between February 20 and 22.

Putin skipped the speech last year. But on February 21, 2022, he unilaterally recognized the independence of two regions in eastern Ukraine. Three days later, on February 24, Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.