Volodymyr Zelensky plans to use the NATO meeting in Turkey to urge Kyiv’s allies to deliver the air defence systems Ukraine urgently needs to protect it from escalating Russian attacks. The president’s call for help comes after Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital twice in less than a week, killing more than 50 civilians and crashing into blocks of flats.

Escalating Attacks and Countermeasures

The NATO summit in Ankara will also allow Zelensky to meet with Donald Trump and argue that Russia’s “harsh” attacks are a sign of weakness and that Vladimir Putin should be pressured into peace talks. The latest strikes on Ukraine have occurred alongside Kyiv’s increased long-range drone attacks against Russia, hitting oil refineries and military targets, causing significant fuel shortages and power cuts.

Moscow’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, reported that anti-air defences intercepted most of the 430 drones launched by Ukraine toward the capital overnight. However, the extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Russian social media showed people queuing for hours to buy petrol, fighting over limited supplies.

Call for NATO Support

On the eve of the NATO gathering, which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Zelensky expressed hope that the meeting in Turkey would not be “empty.” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged member states to “pull their weight” and ensure Ukraine receives what it needs “to defend its sovereignty.” He noted that Kyiv was “changing the dynamic on the battlefield,” referring to efforts to stall Russian ground troops in the east.

Ukraine’s air force provides daily tallies of weapons launched by Moscow and the number intercepted. On Monday, almost all drones were blocked successfully, but the failure rate for missiles was glaring. Ukraine did not stop a single ballistic missile in that attack. These missiles fly at several thousand kilometers an hour, and there are not enough US-made Patriot air defence missiles in Ukraine to counter them.

Zelensky expressed frustration in a video address, calling it “simply absurd” that production of air defence systems has not been scaled up to meet the demand. He has urged European allies to transfer their stockpiles of Patriot missiles, arguing that these weapons are useless in storage when civilians in Ukraine are being killed. “Russia is placing its bets on ballistic weapons, and those who want peace must place their bets on protection against ballistic attacks,” he said.

Ukraine’s Strategy and NATO’s Role

Patriot systems are in short supply globally, and it is unclear how many would be sufficient if Russia escalates its attacks further. Zelensky also proposed that Ukraine, with NATO help, could produce its own equivalent of the Patriot system. The Russian attacks suggest that Ukraine’s deep strikes are affecting the Kremlin, as Moscow now accuses Kyiv of “terrorism” for targeting its oil refineries with drones.

Zelensky calls this an “influence campaign” and plans to share details with NATO allies. The goal is to pressure Putin into peace talks on terms that Kyiv finds acceptable—terms that do not include surrendering the entire eastern Donbas region, as Moscow demands. Ukraine’s targets include high-profile locations such as an oil terminal in St Petersburg, a refinery in Moscow, and now a confirmed hit on an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, 2,500 km from Ukraine’s border.

These drone strikes highlight how stretched Russia’s air defences are, as the drones flew undetected for hours. Ukraine’s influence efforts also include targeting Crimea, a peninsula Putin seized in 2014. Drones are now hitting military logistics, oil refineries, and power plants in Crimea almost every day, causing power cuts, fuel shortages, and an official state of emergency. A local resident described the situation as “catastrophic,” comparing it to the turbulent 1990s after the USSR collapsed.

Zelensky will tell NATO and try to persuade Trump that Ukraine has turned the tide in the war, and with support, its campaign of pressure can compel Russia to engage in proper peace negotiations. Trump has seemed impressed by Ukraine lately, but he spoke to Putin for 90 minutes by phone this week, giving the Russian leader a chance to present his narrative first. Kyiv wants to end the war quickly through “strength or diplomacy” before another harsh winter begins.

To achieve this, Zelensky will argue that Ukraine needs more interceptor missiles to protect its cities and civilians. This includes both immediate support from NATO and long-term strategic plans for self-sufficiency in air defence capabilities.