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”.