French President Emmanuel Macron, U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will co-chair a Coalition of the Willing meeting Monday aimed at strengthening support for Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russia.
European leaders are pledging further support to Kyiv, days after a Russian drone attack on a crowded shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih killed at least 16 people.
The hybrid meeting, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also participating, follows President Macron’s announcement that France would provide additional interceptor missiles to Kyiv.
Burnham is in Kyiv on Monday in his first foreign trip as prime minister, where he is expected to meet Zelenskyy after the U.K. agreed to allow defense company MBDA to release classified information on British components of the SCALP long-range missile to support local assembly in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the U.K. is now a participant in the war on Ukraine’s side and accused Burnham’s government of impeding efforts towards an eventual peace.
Monday’s hybrid meeting, which falls on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, will examine measures aimed at stepping up support for Kyiv and reducing Russia’s resources to continue its war effort, and combating Moscow’s shadow fleet.
It follows the inaugural meeting of the Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition in Paris on July 13.
Friday’s mall attack in Kryvhi Rih, in central Ukraine, killed at least 16 civilians and injured 128 people, according to Ukrainian authorities and U.N. monitors. It was followed by further Russian and Ukrainian strikes.
“By systematically targeting civilians, and by choosing intimidation and escalation, Russia is likely seeking to project strength but is above all revealing an admission of weakness,” Macron wrote in a post on X Saturday announcing the delivery of the interceptors.
“In this context, it is crucial to provide Ukraine with all the necessary means to defend its skies and thwart aggression…. It is essential that all countries with capabilities at their disposal also join this effort.”
