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US officials confirmed that the United States is seeking to conclude a deal with South Korea to purchase a large amount of "strategic equipment" to be sent to Ukraine in support of its military operations against Russia.

The Associated Press quoted an official as saying on Thursday that the deal includes the purchase of 100,000 shells for howitzers, noting that Washington and Seoul have been negotiating for a while on this deal.

The US official added that the agreement comes as Ukrainian leaders demand more military assistance to succeed in counter-attacks launched by Ukrainian forces with the aim of expelling Russian forces from several areas.

Other US military officials confirmed the outlines of the expected deal, pointing to the pressures placed on Kyiv's arsenal of weapons, especially with regard to "howitzers", from which Ukrainian forces fire 7,000 shells per day, compared to 20,000 fired by Russian forces.

For its part, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials that the United States will buy weapons from South Korea in a secret deal for the benefit of Ukraine.

The newspaper said that the deal was agreed in principle during the visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to South Korea earlier this month, noting that the agreement includes 100,000 artillery shells of 155 mm caliber.

For its part, Reuters quoted the Ministry of Defense of South Korea as saying that negotiations for the sale of artillery shells to the United States are taking place on the basis that Washington is the end user.

The ministry stressed that South Korea's position of not providing Ukraine with lethal military aid has not changed.