Zelensky presses Nato for more Patriot missiles after deadly strikes

Russia’s missile-and-drone barrage on Kyiv on July 6 killed at least 20 people and exposed Ukraine’s shortage of U.S.-made Patriot interceptor missiles just as President Volodymyr Zelensky headed into NATO talks in Ankara. The summit at the Beştepe Presidential Compound runs July 7-8 and has put the gap in Ukraine’s air defenses at the center of an alliance test.

Ukraine says ballistic missiles are among the hardest threats for its current air defenses to stop, and Zelensky has urged NATO allies to make “strong decisions” for Ukraine’s protection. He has pressed the United States and European countries for more Patriot systems and interceptor missiles, the hardware needed to blunt Russian strikes that have repeatedly hit Kyiv and the surrounding region.

NATO says the summit will focus on three priorities: increasing allied defense investment, strengthening transatlantic defense industrial production and supporting Ukraine. Its summit materials say allies will continue providing unprecedented military assistance to Kyiv, while the immediate challenge is turning promises into interceptors fast enough to matter against the tempo of Russian attacks.

The most realistic near-term contribution from NATO members is likely to be money, contracts and production capacity rather than instant deliveries of new Patriot batteries. NATO’s summit materials say European allies and Canada increased core defense investment by $139 billion in 2025, and reporting ahead of the summit said leaders were expected to unveil tens of billions of dollars in new defense contracts. A draft declaration circulating before the meeting would also pledge around €70 billion in military assistance for Ukraine in 2026.

The political backdrop is just as stark. NATO’s 2025 Hague summit set a 5% GDP defense-target framework for some allies by 2035, a sign that Washington and European capitals are still arguing over how much more they must spend and how quickly. For Zelensky, the immediate question in Ankara is narrower: whether those promises can keep pace with Russian missiles before another barrage reaches civilians and critical infrastructure.