Storm clouds formed over the Gulf this week, as American forces retaliated against Iranian attacks on neutral shipping, but it was mostly sunshine and rainbows at the NATO summit in Ankara. Donald Trump had some tough comments about a few European allies, but overall, "there was a lot of love in that room. A lot of unity."
Naturally there are still outstanding issues that divide the alliance, such as on Greenland, and the administration is troubled by Europe’s response to the conflict with Iran, but the overall takeaway from the summit was positive—an outcome critical for preventing further Russian attacks on U.S. interests.
Ukraine’s chance of joining NATO has essentially vanished, but President Zelensky got some much-needed wins in Ankara. Just before the summit, the Russians pummeled Kyiv with ballistic and hypersonic missiles, killing at least 19 people. Unlike in previous salvos, every Russian missile landed because Ukraine is desperately short of Patriot missiles. The United States is short too, but Trump announced that he will allow Ukraine to build Patriot missiles. Ukrainian-made Patriots are still years away, but the gesture is a crucial vote of confidence in Ukraine.
Other gains are more immediate. Trump said that Zelensky has "done an amazing job," and they seem to have fully made up from their disastrous meeting last year. Trump is also clearly impressed by Ukrainian battlefield prowess and did not lean on Kyiv to make further concessions to Russia. America’s NATO allies pledged to send at least $80 billion in assistance to Ukraine this year plus the same amount in 2027.
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