KYIV - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that his country's lack of access to weapons was strengthening Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Unfortunately, keeping Ukraine in an artificial deficit of weapons, particularly in deficit of artillery and long-range capabilities, allows Putin to adapt to the current intensity of the war," he said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.

He made reference to the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka, from where Ukrainian troops withdrew as Ukraine faces acute shortages of ammunition, with U.S. military aid delayed for months in Congress.

"Do not ask Ukraine when the war will end. Ask yourself, why is Putin still able to continue it?" Zelenskiy said.

(Reporting by Max Hunder; writing by Maria Sheahan; editing by Matthias Williams)