Zelensky Seeks NATO Air Defense Help After Russian Strikes
Photo: REUTERS
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to use NATO meeting in Turkey to urge allies to deliver vital air defense systems following a surge in Russian assaults.
The urgency of this appeal follows two Russian missile strikes on Kyiv in less than a week, which hit apartment buildings and killed more than 50 civilians.
In Ankara, Zelensky also seeks a pivotal meeting with US President Donald Trump to argue that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal” attacks signify weakness and that the Russian leader should be pressured into a “dignified” peace.
As the Tuesday-Wednesday summit approaches, Ukraine is intensifying its own “influence campaign” using long-range drones to strike Russian oil refineries and military targets. These attacks have triggered significant fuel shortages and power outages across Russia.
Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, claimed defenses intercepted “most” of the 430 drones fired at the capital recently, though the extent of the damage remains unclear. Social media accounts are currently flooded with videos showing Russians queuing for hours and fighting over gasoline.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged member states to “pull their weight” to ensure Kyiv can “defend its sovereignty,” noting that Ukraine is “changing the dynamic on the battlefield”.
Zelensky expressed hope that the meeting in Turkey would not be “empty,” viewing this period as a “window of opportunity”.
Despite successfully blocking nearly all drones during a recent Monday attack, Ukraine failed to intercept a single ballistic missile. These weapons travel at thousands of kilometers per hour, and Kyiv lacks sufficient US-made Patriot systems to counter them.
A frustrated Zelensky stated in a video address, “It is simply absurd that, in today's world, production has still not been scaled up to the level actually required to protect people from ballistic terror.”
He is calling on European allies to release stockpiled Patriots, arguing, “Russia is placing its bets on ballistic weapons, and those who want peace must place their bets on protection against ballistic attacks.”
Because Patriot systems are in short supply worldwide, Zelensky is discussing the production of Ukrainian equivalents with NATO assistance.
Ukraine’s deep strikes - including a hit on an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, 2,500 km from the border - have frustrated the Kremlin. The Omsk drone flew undetected for hours, revealing how stretched Russia’s air defenses have become.
While Moscow now accuses Kyiv of “terrorism” for hitting refineries, it has spent years targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and power stations.
High-profile targets of the campaign include an oil terminal in St Petersburg, hit in June before Putin’s economic forum, and viral strikes on a Moscow refinery.
In occupied Crimea, daily strikes on logistics and power plants have caused a state of emergency and shortages that a local resident described as “catastrophic,” reminiscent of the turbulent 1990s.
Zelensky aims to convince NATO and Trump - who recently held a 90-minute phone call with Putin - that Ukraine has turned the tide. Kyiv intends to end the war quickly through “strength or diplomacy” before another grueling winter begins.
To achieve this, Zelensky maintains that Ukraine must have more interceptor missiles to protect its cities. His strategy remains focused on pressuring Putin into peace talks without surrendering the eastern Donbas region.
Putin’s claim that he “saved” Russia “from that chaos” and raised the nation “from its knees” is being directly challenged by the reality of drone strikes and fuel rationing.
Source: BBC (adapted)
