European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gathered in Paris yesterday to discuss a planned European anti-ballistic missile defence system, which will also be used by Ukraine to counter Russia’s missile attacks against civilians. Ukraine has also received US President Donald Trump’s approval to produce Patriot missiles domestically.
The anti-ballistic system has been one of Ukraine’s most urgent requests, as Russia uses missiles, glide bombs and drones to terrorise Ukrainian civilians on a daily basis.
Leaders were hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, and those who attended include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Luxembourg’s President Xavier Battel, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen, Latvia’s Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, President of Moldova Maia Sandu, and also President Volodymyr Zelensky. EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Antonio Costa and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte were also present, along with Turkish Foreign Minister Haka Fadan, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The founding members of the new anti-ballistic missile coalition are France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Ukraine.
Some European leaders including President Zelensky will also stay for Paris’ Quatorze Juillet celebrations in which Ukrainian forces will also be represented in the military parade.
Newsroom
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