Sawt Falasteen - Ukraine allies pledge more air defence, pressure Russia

Representatives of the 37 coalition members, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, gathered for the 16th meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, launched by France and the United Kingdom to provide military support to Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"We are determined to continue supporting Ukraine even faster and more forcefully," French President Emmanuel Macron said at the close of the meeting.

He announced Ukraine would acquire 16 Rafale fighter jets, the first of which would "take to the skies" by 2028-2029, as well as new-generation SAMP/T batteries to strengthen Ukraine's air defences, which have come under strain from repeated Russian ballistic missile strikes in recent weeks.

Macron also announced the Multinational Force for Ukraine, which would be deployed once the fighting has ended, would hold exercises in the coming months in Ukraine's neighbouring countries "to validate our deployment plans and demonstrate that we are ready".

The meeting came the day before France's national public holiday Bastille Day, which includes a military parade that this year will highlight support for Ukraine, opening with 500 soldiers from coalition countries.

Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will attend the parade with a host of other coalition leaders.

"It is time to put an end to this pointless bloodshed in Ukraine," Merz said after the summit.

He said support for Ukraine -- for which Germany's ambassador to Russia was summoned on Monday -- was "for the sake of freedom throughout Europe".

- 'Double down' -

Starmer said now was the time to "double down" to end the war, at a time when Ukraine appears to be turning the tide in the conflict by stabilising the front line and striking deep inside Russia.

Britain on Monday joined the European Unions's 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) support loan for Ukraine and introduced with the bloc a sanctions package targeting malicious Russian cyber actors.

Before the summit, ten countries announced the formation of a coalition to develop "purely defensive" anti-ballistic capabilities for Europe.

"We do this not against any people, but in defence of our own," said the joint declaration by Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

"Strong and sufficient anti-ballistic capabilities are essential to bringing Russia's war against Ukraine to an end," Zelensky said in a post praising the initiative.

During the traditional speech delivered to the armed forces before Bastille Day, Macron said Europe was "in the process of becoming a power" ready to "defend itself".

"The message we send to the world is this: Yes, peace is our goal. Yes, we cherish freedom and the rule of law. And yes, we stand ready to fight to defend them. Always, and at the cost of blood if necessary," Macron said.

- 'Coalition of warmongers' -

Moscow earlier Monday dismissed the summit as a gathering of leaders who "do not want peace".

"This is a coalition of warmongers," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Macron and the other leaders noted renewed unity with the United States over Ukraine after the G7 summit in June in France and the NATO meeting last week in Turkey.

US President Donald Trump has sought to maintain relations with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin while periodically criticising both Moscow and Kyiv, but signalled his intention to offer greater support to Ukraine at the meetings.

The United States this month gave Ukraine permission to build US-designed Patriot air defence systems capable of downing ballistic missiles, but it may be months before they enter production.

Washington last week also advanced bipartisan legislation targeting countries buying Russian energy -- potentially clearing the way for stronger pressure on Moscow.

The United States is not formally part of the Coalition of the Willing and has ruled out any deployment of American ground troops, but would be involved in ceasefire monitoring.

A ceasefire, however, remains a distant prospect as fighting rages, with Zelensky in recent days repeating his plea for allies to send more military aid.

Praising the steps taken on Monday at the joint press conference, Zelensky said it was "a historic day for all of us".

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V.Said--SF-PST