Nine European countries and Ukraine have launched a coalition to build Europe's own defence against ballistic missiles. France's annual July 14 military parade will feature aircraft from 11 European countries and around 500 troops from the ″Coalition of the Willing″ allies that have pledged to help with Ukraine’s post-war security in a showcase of support for Kyiv. The event will also mark President Emmanuel Macron’s last Bastille Day in his role.
The decision signals a shift away from its reliance on the U.S. as Ukraine struggles against Russia's onslaught. Ukraine and nine other countries will form a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilising Kyiv's experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years.
Russia has escalated attacks in recent weeks, taking advantage of Ukraine’s critical shortage of air defences. Ukraine and key Western allies on Monday announced an air-defence coalition that would include jointly developing a new anti-ballistic missile system as an alternative and cheaper solution to the U.S. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Ukraine.
Ukraine and nine other countries including UK issue joint statement as leaders meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in ParisUkraine and nine other countries including the UK, Germany and France are to build a shared protection programme for Europe against ballistic missiles, using Kyiv’s experience in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion for more than four years.“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defence capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement on Monday as leaders met the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for talks in Paris. "We believe that the protection of Europe requires a global solution of integrated missile defence architecture to deter and defeat future missile threats," the joint declaration said.
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