For two days Paris became the capital of the “strategic awakening of Europe” and the defense of Ukraine: this is the common thread that France has chosen to celebrate its National Day, the storming of the Bastille, on 14 July, with the traditional, spectacular military parade on the Champs-Elysées (a date which for the French also marks the tenth anniversary of the tragic terrorist attack on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice which caused 86 victims).
Along the avenue that connects the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, one of the most famous in the world, 500 soldiers paraded, in the presence of 25 heads of state and government in the stands, including the Italian president Sergio Mattarella and the Ukrainian Zelensky, welcomed as guest of honour. On the eve of the National Day, the French capital hosted the Hotel des Invalides – the monumental complex that houses Napoleon’s tomb – the Ukrainian president and representatives of 37 countries belonging to the Coalition of the Willing, the initiative in support of Kyiv against Russia. Among the other leaders present, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council António Costa, the Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte.
The military parade of July 14th in Paris.
(REUTERS)
A few days after the NATO summit in Ankara – which gave the go-ahead to a more markedly European Atlantic Alliance and defined Kyiv’s role as an indispensable partner for the construction of common defense – the Paris summit continues along the path of massive rearmament, with huge investments in the arms industry, and marks a turning point in European security. THEThe summit saw the birth of a limited coalition – on the sidelines of the broader coalition of the Willing – aimed at developing defense against ballistic missiles in Europe. Nine countries – Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Italy – join Ukraine (tenth country) in a group that will have the task of developing an anti-ballistic missile system on the Continent which, as specified in the joint declaration for the establishment of the Integrated Coalition, will have a “purely defensive character” and was born in the face of the “growing threat posed by ballistic missiles and the ever-increasing importance of defense capabilities for the security of the European continent”.
The ballistic missile, very briefly, is a specific type of missile that follows an arc trajectory, designed to travel enormous distances, even intercontinental, traveling at very high altitudes and at extreme, hypersonic speeds, therefore very difficult to intercept. In the war in Ukraine, Russia is making extensive use of ballistic missiles in its attacks across the country and in particular on Kyiv. Raids to which Ukraine for its part responds by targeting refineries and other strategic targets on Russian territory with its drones.
The new defensive structure, explains the statement from the Coalition leaders, «will integrate the already existing ballistic missile defense systems, including the national European solutions already acquired or which will be acquired by the participating countries. By combining our defense industrial base, our research and our operational experience, we intend to build a common ballistic missile defense capability for Europe and support related contribution activities.”
The Coalition will support the Freya air defense pilot project, designed by the Ukrainian company Fire Point, which aims to develop a cheaper equivalent to the US Patriot systems – for the production of which Kyiv obtained a license from Washington at the NATO summit – while maintaining effectiveness in intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. “Solid and sufficient anti-ballistic capabilities are essential to end Russia’s war against Ukraine,” writes Zelensky on his profile The Paris Summit marked a further strengthening of relations between France and Ukraine: French President Macron has announced that Paris will grant – for the first time – a license to Kyiv to produce French-designed cruise missiles and air defense systems in Ukraine.
On July 15th Ursula von der Leyen will be in Kyiv: The European Commission is preparing a combined aid package for Ukraine totaling 18 billion euros, which is expected to be announced during the president’s visit. On the eve of the Volenterosi summit, Zelensky announced a new, major Cabinet reshuffle, describing it as “a change in political strategy”. The reshuffle involves the replacement of Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko – who resigned – as well as several changes at the top of the police force. Svyrydenko, 40, was elected prime minister just a year ago, in July 2025, and only a few days later her executive was overwhelmed by the gigantic corruption scandal which led to the resignation of two implicated ministers. Zelensky offered her to take on the task of leading relations with a key allied country. But, from what he reports The Kyiv IndependentSvyrydenko has not yet accepted the offer.
Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky at the Summit of the Willing in Paris on July 13,
(REUTERS)
Meanwhile, the European Union is proceeding briskly in the negotiations for the entry of Kyiv – and also Moldova – into the group of 27. On the occasion of the third EU-Ukraine Accession Conference, a new cluster of the negotiation (the cluster negotiations are thematic groupings or macro-areas into which the reforms that a country must implement to align with the rest of the Union are divided). After the first one opened clusterthe one on fundamental issues i.e. democracy, rights and justice, which took place on 15 June (remained blocked for a long time by the Hungarian opposition), Chapter 6 is the second to be opened and is dedicated to foreign policy, defense and security including the fight against hybrid threats. That is, those hostile actions and campaigns towards a country or more countries that use various means, from disinformation to cyber attacks.
Threats perceived as increasingly concrete and looming: on the day of the Volenterosi summit, the French government denounced a major cyberattack that was allegedly orchestrated from Moscow and conducted by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) against a dozen European countries for the purposes of espionage and sabotage. A campaign that would have aimed to sow chaos in Europe and in response to which the European Union announced a large package of cyber sanctions against individuals and entities deemed responsible for the cyberattack campaign.
The Kremlin for its part responded to the Willing with very harsh tones, defining them as “a coalition that instigates war”. And Putin has returned to threaten even more violent and massive actions against Kyiv, fantasizing about a further escalation of the conflict, in response to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian targets.
