President Volodymyr Zelensky spent Wednesday in a whirlwind of high-level diplomacy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, holding meetings with US President Donald Trump, European leaders, South Korea’s president and a bipartisan US congressional delegation. Air defense, sanctions against Russia, Ukraine’s EU accession and defense-industrial cooperation dominated the discussions, with Trump‘s pledge to license Patriot production in Ukraine emerging as the day’s biggest headline.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Meloni and EU leaders Zelensky began the day with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, describing the talks as important amid another wave of Russian attacks. “I informed about the situation in Ukraine. Russia does not stop shelling our cities and communities,” Zelensky said, adding that ballistic missiles and attack drones had again struck Ukraine, killing civilians in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson. The leaders discussed strengthening European cooperation on ballistic missile defense and Ukraine’s urgent need for additional missiles for air defense systems. “We talked about the need for additional missiles for air defense systems, and we are very much counting on support. Italy always fundamentally helps protect life,” Zelensky said.