Ukraine and 9 other countries announce a coalition to protect Europe
from ballistic missiles
[July 14, 2026]
By EMMA CARMICHAEL and ILLIA NOVIKOV
PARIS (AP) — Ukraine and nine other countries announced Monday they were
forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, utilizing
Kyiv’s experience in fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four
years.
“Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for
Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He was asking two dozen leaders for help in developing measures against
Russia's missile attacks that have pummeled his country and made the
rest of Europe wary of Moscow’s wider ambitions on the continent.
Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they
recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are
harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones.
“We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in
the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and
neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize
Ukraine’s unique experience, gained through its defense against the war
of aggression waged by Russia.”
The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system and
said the plan remained open to other countries.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12
months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system with missiles
that would let Europe supply itself with new antiballistic capability
and provide it to others around the world who need protection.
Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down
Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic
retaliation to Kyiv's recent long-range attacks on refineries, tankers
and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages.
“Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in
kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a
meeting with pro-Kremlin activists.
European foreign ministers were meeting separately in Brussels where
they discussed Ukraine’s needs and Russia’s threats to the continent.
Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate efforts with European countries to
develop its air defenses ahead of winter, when Russia usually
intensifies its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water.
Ukrainian officials were in Paris to present a proposed Anti-Ballistic
Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and
defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge last week to give Ukraine a license
to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles
could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian
officials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take
years. It was unclear how quickly a European system could be built.
Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations
Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine’s recent
successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the fighting, although
Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace efforts by
the Trump administration.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the
Paris meeting but dismissed its aspirations.
“This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by
the profound delusion that it’s possible to inflict a strategic defeat
on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of
those who incite the war.”
Ukraine’s advances in drone technology have given it an edge recently,
analysts and Western officials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind
the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum and made its progress
slow and costly, they say.
Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days
Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to
the Crimean Peninsula between July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander
of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.
The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tugboats,
Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app.
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French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky pose for a group photo with heads of states and governments
ahead of the Coalition of the Willing summit on security guarantees
for Ukraine at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, France, Monday,
July 13, 2026. (Teresa Suarez/POOL photo via AP)
The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian effort to isolate the
Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it
was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian
logistics. Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying
parts of southern Ukraine.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian
officials made no immediate comment.
European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv
The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which
brings together more than 30 countries and about 25 heads of state
and government, appeared to be a demonstration of a long-term
commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests
Europe's resilience.
Zelenskyy’s trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters in
Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham "the closest
link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.”
The trip also comes amid a major reshuffle of Zelenskyy's government
that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the
Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian
hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber
campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in
about 10 European countries.”
Ukraine's neighbors have also felt the war's impact.
In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight
attacks on Ukraine’s Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova’s
territory, Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. It
said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.”
Ukraine fires over 300 drones toward Moscow
Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its
domestically developed long-range drones and missiles.
Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward
Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the
capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were
downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three
were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the
western part of the Moscow region.
The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134
long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at
Ukraine.
A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region set fire
to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the flag of
Togo, killing five crew members and wounding 10, said regional
military administration head Oleh Kiper.
Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation
Russia’s Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian
plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern
Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the
southern Urals.
Small drones were smuggled into Russia’s Bryansk region using air
balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air
bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service
said.
A covert Ukrainian operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb,
destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow’s strategic bomber
fleet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to
Ukrainian officials.
——
Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Lorne Cook in Brussels and
Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
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