Russia’s invasion has dominated previous meetings, but keeping President Trump happy was the focus at the gathering this week. Ukraine was largely shunted to the sidelines.

Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian people and infrastructure shaped Zelenskyy’s goals at the summit, where the main focus was on air defence.

The leaders reaffirmed their “ironclad commitment” to NATO’s collective defense clause, Article 5. In recent years, Trump had sowed seeds of doubt about whether the U.S. — NATO’s most powerful member — would come to the aid of any ally under attack.