Zelensky at G7 seeks four new Patriot batteries

For Serbia, which steers a careful course between Brussels and Moscow, any G7 decision on arming Ukraine is not a distant headline. It shifts the frame in which the price of energy, the direction of the sanctions regime and the room for diplomacy with both sides are all calculated. That is why the second day of the Evian summit, where the Group of Seven gathered for a working session devoted to the war, is worth reading closely from a Belgrade vantage point as well.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, invited by host Emmanuel Macron to join the leaders’ session, put a very concrete request before his allies. Kyiv is asking for the accelerated delivery of PAC-3 missiles and long-range air defense systems, and at the heart of that request is the expectation that allies commit, before July, to at least four new Patriot batteries. Ukraine regards the Patriot as its most effective shield against Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

Why Patriot, and why now?

Ukrainian officials have for months called air defense their most critical shortfall, and on two fronts at once. The first is military: without a dense shield, cities deep inside the country remain exposed to strikes, and the logistics behind the front line stay vulnerable. The second is political, because every new system that arrives before summer signals to allies that support has not slowed despite the fatigue felt in Western capitals.

The request for four batteries is not an arbitrary figure. It reflects Kyiv’s attempt to cover several key points at once rather than shuttling individual systems from one threatened area to another. From the allies’ side, though, the Patriot is a rare and costly resource, so every delivery commitment raises the question of who gives up capacity and on what timeline. This is where the geopolitical reality collides with industrial limits, because interceptor production does not match the rate at which the missiles are spent.

As host, Macron insisted that talks on the war’s future be held with Europeans and Americans present at the same time, underscoring that the transatlantic link remains the frame without which decisions on Ukraine carry no weight. That demand is not merely procedural; behind it sits a French concern that the European continent should not be confronted with a settlement reached without it.

Who sits at the table in Evian?

The makeup of the summit shows how far the topic has outgrown the Seven itself. Alongside Donald Trump, the table includes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, while representatives of Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea were invited as guests. That circle of participants suggests decisions on the war are increasingly tied to a wider map, from global trade to energy flows.

For Europe, the outcome of this session is measured by whether promises of Patriot batteries acquire deadlines and signatures, or remain a statement of goodwill with no delivery schedule. For Kyiv, the difference between the two is the difference between a protected and an unprotected city on the eve of summer. And for an observer in Belgrade, one question lingers that concerns more than the front: how far will an Evian deal shift the balance of power, and can the region stay on the sidelines while Europe’s security guarantees are redrawn?