It is simply absurd that production has not been scaled up
As war reshapes the skyline of Kyiv with fire and grief, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travels to a NATO summit in Ankara carrying the weight of more than fifty civilian deaths and an unanswered question: how does a nation defend its people against weapons that outrun every interceptor it possesses? The gathering in Turkey this week is not merely a diplomatic forum but a reckoning with the gap between alliance solidarity and the physical scarcity of the tools that keep people alive. Zelensky arrives not as a supplicant but as a strategist, arguing that Ukraine's deepening strikes on Russian territory signal a turning tide — one that could be decisive, if only the world's stockpiles could match the moment.
- Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv twice in a single week, killing more than fifty civilians in residential buildings while Ukraine's air defences, capable of downing nearly every drone, stopped not one ballistic weapon.
- The asymmetry is brutal and mathematical: interceptors are finite, missiles are not, and Zelensky has made the arithmetic public — framing the shortage not as a military inconvenience but as a moral failure of scale.
- Ukraine is simultaneously pressing the fight deep into Russian territory, with drone strikes reaching an oil refinery in Siberia 2,500 kilometres away and triggering fuel rationing and visible panic in Moscow.
- Zelensky will argue at the NATO summit that this momentum is real and fragile — that Patriot stockpiles held in European storage facilities are strategically inert while Ukrainian cities burn.
- The diplomatic window is narrow: Trump meets Zelensky in Ankara after ninety minutes on the phone with Putin, and the outcome may hinge on whether Ukraine's recent battlefield performance impresses more than Russia's familiar narrative.
Volodymyr Zelensky is heading to Ankara with a single, urgent demand: more air defence systems, particularly American-made Patriot missiles, to stop Russian ballistic weapons from killing Ukrainian civilians. The timing is devastating. In the past week alone, Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv twice, tearing into residential buildings and leaving more than fifty people dead. The NATO summit in Turkey is his platform to make the case that without more interceptors, Ukraine cannot protect its cities.
The frustration is precise and public. In a video address, Zelensky laid out the mathematics plainly: Ukraine's air force shot down nearly every drone Russia fired that day, but stopped zero ballistic missiles. Those weapons travel at several thousand kilometres per hour, and there are simply not enough Patriot interceptors in the country to meet them. He has called it "ballistic terror" and argued that missiles sitting in European storage are useless when Ukrainians are dying now.
But Zelensky's case goes beyond a request for hardware. He will argue that Ukraine has shifted the war's momentum. Ukrainian long-range drones have struck oil refineries deep inside Russia — including one in Omsk, Siberia, 2,500 kilometres from Ukraine's border — and hit targets in Crimea almost daily. Fuel rationing has spread across Russia, and Moscow itself has come under drone attack. A resident of Crimea told the BBC conditions had become "catastrophic," evoking the chaos of the 1990s — a comparison that cuts directly at Putin's political identity as the man who rescued Russia from that era.
Zelensky will tell NATO that this pressure proves Russia is weakening and that, with sustained air defence support, Ukraine can force Putin toward negotiations on acceptable terms. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has already urged member states to "pull their weight." The phrase circulating in diplomatic circles is "window of opportunity."
The obstacles are real. Patriot systems are scarce globally, and no quantity may be sufficient if Russia escalates further — which is why Zelensky is also pushing for support to develop Ukraine's own equivalent systems. Trump, who will meet Zelensky in Ankara, spent ninety minutes on the phone with Putin this week before the summit. What Zelensky wants most is to end the war before another winter arrives. But without more interceptors, he will argue, the mathematics remain unchanged: Russian ballistic missiles will keep finding their targets, and civilians will keep paying the price.
Volodymyr Zelensky is heading to Ankara this week with a single, urgent demand: give Ukraine the air defence systems it needs to stop Russian missiles from raining down on apartment buildings and killing civilians. The timing could not be sharper. In the past seven days, Russian ballistic missiles have struck the Ukrainian capital twice, tearing into residential blocks and leaving more than fifty people dead. The NATO summit in Turkey, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, will be his platform to make the case that without more interceptor missiles—particularly the American-made Patriot systems—Ukraine cannot protect its cities from what he calls "ballistic terror."
The frustration in Zelensky's voice is unmistakable. On Monday, he released a video address laying bare the mathematics of the problem: Ukraine's air force shot down nearly every drone Russia fired that day, but it stopped zero ballistic missiles. Those weapons travel at several thousand kilometres per hour. There simply are not enough Patriot interceptors in the country to counter them. "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 said. He has been pressing European allies to hand over their own stockpiles, arguing that missiles sitting in storage are useless when Ukrainians are dying now.
But Zelensky's case to NATO goes deeper than a shopping list. He will argue that Ukraine has fundamentally shifted the momentum of the war. For months, Russia has pounded Ukrainian infrastructure—power stations in the dead of winter, civilian neighbourhoods, water systems. Now Ukraine is hitting back with long-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory, and the Kremlin is visibly stung. Moscow's mayor reported that Ukrainian drones fired 430 unmanned aircraft at the capital overnight, with air defences intercepting most of them. Russian social media is flooded with videos of people queuing for hours to buy petrol, rationing fuel they can barely obtain. An oil terminal in St Petersburg was struck ahead of Putin's economic forum in June. A refinery in Moscow itself exploded in a viral video. Most strikingly, a confirmed hit on an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia—2,500 kilometres from Ukraine's border—shows how thin Russian air defences have become.
The campaign has extended to Crimea, the peninsula Putin seized in 2014 and considers deeply personal. Ukrainian drones are now hitting military logistics, refineries, and power plants there almost daily. A resident told the BBC the situation had become "catastrophic," reminiscent of the chaotic 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed. That comparison cuts to the heart of Putin's political identity: he has built his entire claim to legitimacy on the idea that he rescued Russia from that chaos, raised it "from its knees." Now his war is bringing danger to Moscow itself and widespread fuel rationing.
Zelensky will tell NATO that this pressure campaign proves Russia is weakening, not winning. He will argue that with the right air defence support, Ukraine can sustain this momentum and force Putin to the negotiating table on terms Kyiv can accept—terms that do not require surrendering the entire eastern Donbas region, as Moscow still demands. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has already called on member states to "pull their weight" and ensure Ukraine gets what it needs. The phrase circulating in diplomatic circles is "window of opportunity."
The challenge is that Patriot systems are scarce worldwide, and it is unclear whether any number would be sufficient if Russia escalates further. That is why Zelensky is also pushing for NATO support to help Ukraine develop its own equivalent air defence systems. Meanwhile, Trump—who will meet Zelensky in Ankara—has seemed impressed by Ukraine's recent performance, though he spent ninety minutes on the phone with Putin this week, giving the Russian leader a chance to make his case first.
What Zelensky wants most is to end this war quickly, before another brutal winter arrives. But to have any chance of that, he will argue, Ukraine needs more interceptor missiles. The mathematics are stark: without them, Russian ballistic weapons will keep finding their targets in Ukrainian cities, and the civilians sheltering in those apartment blocks will keep paying the price.
Citas Notables
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.— Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video address on Monday
Russia is placing its bets on ballistic weapons, and those who want peace must place their bets on protection against ballistic attacks.— Volodymyr Zelensky, setting out his case for the NATO meeting
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Zelensky keep asking for Patriot missiles specifically? Aren't there other air defence systems?
Patriot is what Ukraine already has, what its operators are trained on, what integrates with their existing systems. You don't retrain an army mid-war. But the real answer is simpler: there just aren't enough of them anywhere. They're in short supply globally.
He says Ukraine is winning by hitting Russian oil refineries. How does that connect to needing more air defence?
It's about leverage. If Ukraine can keep pressuring Russia's economy—fuel shortages, power cuts, the humiliation of it all—Putin might come to the table. But Ukraine can only sustain that campaign if its own cities aren't being destroyed. You can't fight a war of attrition if your civilians are being killed at home.
What's the significance of the Omsk refinery strike, 2,500 kilometres away?
It shows Russia's air defences are stretched impossibly thin. A drone flew undetected for hours across Russian territory. That's not a small thing. It means Ukraine has found a way to reach targets Moscow thought were safe.
Trump spoke to Putin for 90 minutes. Does that undermine Zelensky's position?
It complicates it. Trump gets to hear Putin's version first. But Zelensky will argue in Ankara that Ukraine's military momentum is real, that it's not just words—it's refineries burning and fuel lines empty.
Is there actually enough Patriot missiles in the world to protect Ukraine if Russia keeps escalating?
Probably not. That's the hard truth. Which is why Zelensky is also pushing for Ukraine to build its own systems. But that takes time, and civilians are dying now.
What happens if NATO says no?
Then Ukraine goes into winter with the same gap it has now. Russian missiles keep getting through. The pressure campaign continues, but so does the bleeding.