President Emmanuel Macron used his final Bastille Day address to the French armed forces on Monday to declare that Europe was undergoing a “strategic awakening” and stood ready to defend freedom “at the cost of blood if necessary,” hours before co-chairing a summit in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing. The gathering, convened at the Hôtel des Invalides, brought together some 25 heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with representatives from 37 countries that have pledged military support to Ukraine. According to the French presidency, the meeting aimed to amplify pressure on Moscow, bolster Ukraine’s air and missile defences, and advance operational planning for long-term security guarantees.

Moscow responded with sharp condemnation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the coalition as “a coalition of warmongers” and “deluded people” who harbour an illusion of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia. He reiterated that any foreign troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets. The United States, which is not a formal member of the coalition, has ruled out sending ground forces but is expected to participate in ceasefire monitoring, a role that several European participants view as an essential backstop for their own commitments. Washington last week advanced bipartisan legislation targeting countries that purchase Russian energy, a move seen in European capitals as a signal of renewed transatlantic convergence.

The summit’s agenda included a dedicated session of the “anti-ballistic coalition” focused on expanding Ukraine’s air defence capabilities, including licensed production of missile systems on Ukrainian soil. French officials said the Multinational Force for Ukraine, designed for deployment once a ceasefire takes hold, would be formally declared ready, with joint military exercises to be scheduled and command of the force set to transfer from France to the United Kingdom for the next twelve months. On the industrial front, Macron called for deeper European defence cooperation and expressed regret over the collapse of the Franco-German SCAF next-generation fighter project, urging partners to avoid what he termed the “absurdity” of nationalism.

The Paris meeting is the latest in a series of more than fifteen gatherings since the coalition’s launch in February 2025. In January, participants adopted the Paris Declaration outlining robust security guarantees and a mechanism for monitoring and verifying a future ceasefire. Yet a ceasefire remains a distant prospect, with Ukrainian air defences under sustained strain from Russian ballistic missile strikes. The coalition’s immediate focus, according to French diplomatic sources, is to sustain military aid and demonstrate that there is “absolutely no sign of fatigue” among Kyiv’s backers. The summit will be followed on Tuesday by the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Élysées, where some 500 soldiers from coalition member states will march at the head of the procession, a symbolic display of the unity Macron is seeking to project.