Zelensky urges NATO allies to accelerate air-defence support at Ankara summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to NATO leaders at the Ankara summit to make additional air-defence assistance a top outcome of the meeting. He said Ukraine can manage many aspects of its war effort, but lacks enough Patriot-type missiles to counter Russian ballistic strikes.

"Please help us get more air defence missiles. This is our top priority right now," Zelenskyy told participants at the NATO Defense Industry Forum.

Zelenskyy highlighted recent Russian missile barrages that have exposed gaps in Ukraine’s ability to intercept ballistic weapons, despite high success rates against drones and cruise missiles. He noted that Ukraine has built a sophisticated drone warfare capability that is inflicting significant Russian casualties.

The president warned that Russia’s remaining advantage lies in its ballistic missiles and called for a rapid build-up of European anti-ballistic systems. He described the Patriot system as "excellent" but said current production falls short of Ukraine’s needs.

"Europe needs its own effective anti-ballistic systems and missiles. This cannot wait until 2030 or beyond. Europe needs affordable, mass-produced, anti-ballistic systems as soon as possible. In fact, today," Zelenskyy said, urging European governments and industry to pursue production licences and accelerate manufacturing.