Zelensky To Press NATO For Air Defence Systems After Intense Russian Strikes
Ukraine's president plans to use the Nato meeting in Turkey to urge Kyiv's allies to deliver the air defence systems it urgently needs to protect it from escalating Russian attacks.
Volodymyr Zelensky's call for help rings with extra intensity after Russian missiles rained down on the Ukrainian capital twice in less than a week, crashing into blocks of flats and killing more than 50 civilians.
The summit in Ankara will also be a chance for Zelensky to hold a crucial meeting with Donald Trump and press home his case that Russia's "brutal" attacks are a show of weakness, not strength, and that Vladimir Putin should be pressured into talks towards a "dignified" peace.
The latest strikes on Ukraine come as it has been stepping up its own long-range drone attacks against Russia, hitting oil refineries and military targets there and causing significant fuel shortages and power cuts.
Underscoring that threat, Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said anti-air defences intercepted "most" of the 430 unmanned aerial drones fired by Ukraine towards the capital overnight. The severity of the damage was not immediately clear.
Russian social media accounts are full of videos of people queuing for hours to buy petrol and fighting over what little they're allowed.
On the eve of the Nato gathering, which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Zelensky voiced 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 gets what it needs "to defend its sovereignty".
He underlined that Kyiv was "changing the dynamic on the battlefield", referring to efforts to stall Russian ground troops in the east.
That's also about the recent drone strikes, apparently giving Ukraine an edge.
The phrase of the month here is "window of opportunity".
But as the war in the skies has intensified, Russia's ballistic missiles are causing Kyiv real problems.
Ukraine's air force issues a daily tally of the weapons Moscow launches alongside the number intercepted.
On Monday, almost all drones were blocked successfully but the failure rate for missiles was glaringly obvious.
Ukraine did not stop a single ballistic missile in that attack.
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