Nato should let Ukraine join to ‘make all of us stronger’, says Zelenskyy

What Happened

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at NATO's defence industry forum, urged the alliance to admit Ukraine, arguing its war-forged defensive capabilities would strengthen collective defence. He highlighted Ukrainian military-industrial advances, including drone strikes reaching an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, 1,680 miles from Ukraine's border, and a Shahed drone interception rate exceeding 90%. Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed European help to develop an alternative to the U.S. Patriot system, as stocks of Patriot interceptors had dwindled dramatically after U.S. strikes on Iran in the spring. He stressed that only ballistic missiles remained a significant threat. A senior NATO official briefed that Russian forces advanced at a rate of 3.79 square kilometres per day in June, a quarter the rate of a year earlier, while sustaining 30,000 to 35,000 casualties per month. The official said Russia launched about 8,300 munitions—8,150 drones and 211 missiles—at Ukraine in May, and that Ukraine responded with 10,000 long-range drones, knocking out roughly 20% of Russia’s oil-refining capacity and weakening its hold on Crimea.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

Zelenskyy’s appeal directly challenges NATO’s reluctance to admit a country at war with a nuclear-armed Russia, framing Ukraine’s battle-hardened military and self-sufficient defence industry as an asset rather than a liability. The simultaneous battlefield briefing by a senior NATO official underscores a turning point: Russia’s offensive has stalled at a crawl, while Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign is degrading Russian economic and logistical targets deep inside its territory, including Crimea. The stark depletion of U.S. Patriot interceptors after the Iran war adds urgency to European self-reliance in air defence, potentially reshaping NATO’s defence-industrial landscape and reordering transatlantic burden-sharing.

Watch For

Monitor the outcome of Zelenskyy’s Tuesday dinner at the Turkish presidential palace and his Wednesday bilateral meeting with Donald Trump for any signals of renewed U.S.-led mediation or pressure on Ukraine’s NATO path. Track NATO defence industry announcements beyond the $50 billion in deals cited, especially any concrete European initiatives to produce anti-ballistic systems. Russian response to the slowdown in advance rates and sustained infrastructure losses—particularly around Crimea and oil refining—may include escalated missile barrages or a renewed offensive push.