Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for his country to join NATO ahead of its annual summit, arguing that excluding a nation with such robust defenses would be a mistake.
Speaking at NATO's defence industry forum, Zelenskyy questioned whether it would be right to leave outside the alliance a country and people with such a high level of defensive capability.
He emphasized that Ukraine now manufactures nearly all necessary weaponry and that its capabilities should become part of NATO's collective defence, making the alliance stronger.
Ukraine is now in its fifth year of repelling the Russian invasion, with Russia's advance slowing significantly while Kyiv targets economic infrastructure deep inside Russia.
A senior NATO official noted that Russian troops advanced by an average of 3.79 square kilometers per day in June, a 75 percent reduction compared to the previous year, despite sustaining 30,000 to 35,000 casualties each month.
Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend a leaders' dinner in Ankara and will hold a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump.
Trump, who communicated with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed optimism about renewed US mediation efforts to resolve the war.
Zelenskyy highlighted how the conflict has modernized Ukraine's domestic industrial infrastructure, citing a recent drone strike on an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, located 1,680 miles from the border.
He stated that Ukraine has eliminated the idea of Russia having a strategic rear, as Moscow previously relied on its geographic size to shield military-industrial production.
Ukraine now intercepts more than 90 percent of incoming Shahed drones and is enhancing defenses against cruise missiles, though ballistic strikes remain a critical threat.
Recently, a strike involving 23 Russian ballistic missiles killed at least 15 people in Kyiv, with none intercepted due to a shortage of US Patriot interceptors.
Stocks of these interceptors dropped following US military actions in Iran, which sparked a wider Middle East conflict.
Zelenskyy stressed that Europe urgently needs its own capability to produce anti-ballistic systems, as there are not enough US Patriots.
Estimates suggest between 1,060 and 1,430 Patriot interceptors were deployed during the Middle East conflict, while production is limited to roughly 600 PAC-3 variants annually.
Russia has expanded its arms output, launching approximately 8,300 munitions in May alone, compared to 10,000 long-range drones deployed by Ukraine.
A NATO official noted that Ukraine's deep strike operations have disabled roughly 20 percent of Russia's oil-refining capacity and weakened its logistical control over Crimea.
The address occurred alongside a NATO industry event where member states announced over $50 billion in weapons contracts, driven by increased domestic defense spending targets.
