President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Ankara on 7 July for the 36th NATO summit, asking allies for air-defense systems, interceptor missiles, and new drone agreements as Ukraine reels from one of the deadliest strikes on Kyiv this year. He confirmed the trip and its agenda in a post on Telegram.
The summit opens a night after Russia hit Kyiv with 68 missiles and 351 drones, killing at least 19 people, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service. That timing has sharpened Ukraine's central demand in Ankara: Patriot systems and the PAC-3 interceptors to arm them, delivered now rather than through future tranches. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged allies to release the missiles immediately, warning that delay only emboldens Moscow.
What Ukraine wants from Ankara
Zelenskyy said dozens of bilateral meetings at the summit's Defense Industry Forum, along with new drone deals and production-license agreements, are on his schedule for the first day. Kyiv also wants the summit's final declaration to name it a security contributor to the alliance, not only an aid recipient, its NATO envoy said ahead of the talks — a framing EP examined earlier this week.
Who is in Ukraine's delegation
Zelenskyy leads Ukraine's delegation. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, appointed in January 2026, is not among it, according to Euromaidan Press sources at the summit.
At the summit itself, Ukraine's ministerial-level representation falls to Sybiha, who joins the Ukraine-NATO Council in its foreign-minister dinner format on the evening of 7 July. Alliance defense ministers meet separately the same evening with Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Australia. The summit's first day is built around the NATO Defense Industry Forum — the venue for the drone and production deals Zelenskyy said he would pursue himself.
The stakes in Ankara
NATO allies are expected to confirm €70 billion ($80 billion) in military equipment, aid, and training for Ukraine in 2026, and to affirm at least an equivalent level in 2027, Reuters reports. The United States is not expected to contribute to that figure. The gathering unfolds under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has pushed European members to take primary responsibility for the continent's defense and questioned his own commitment to the alliance.
Zelenskyy is due to hold a bilateral meeting with Trump on 8 July, the two leaders' latest attempt to move toward ending Russia's war on Ukraine.
