French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the Coalition of the Willing, the group of Ukraine's allies led by Britain and France, will hold joint full-scale military exercises in October and November this year, Ukrainian outlet Suspilne News reported.
Macron made the announcement during a coalition meeting in Kyiv, where he linked the exercises to allies' priorities in supporting Ukraine, including providing it with security guarantees once the war ends.
Macron said it was very important to keep demonstrating the coalition's determination and readiness when it came to the security guarantees they had decided on. He said the full-scale exercises planned for October and November would show the coalition's operational readiness and its ability to act after the fighting stops, calling this very important. He described it as one of the key elements of any related negotiations, once Ukraine decided to hold them, and said it was essential that allies worked on this collectively.
Exercises first flagged in July
The outlet noted that the drills had already been announced at the coalition's previous meeting in July. At that time, it emerged that around 1,500 British and French troops would arrive in Poland in September to take part in international exercises involving coalition countries.
Coalition of the Willing
The Coalition of the Willing is a grouping of countries backing Ukraine, formed under British and French leadership to coordinate military and political support for Kyiv, including discussions on post-war security guarantees.
Pressure on Russia's shadow fleet
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Macron had earlier called for tougher sanctions on Russia's so-called shadow fleet. Burnham said Russia's missile launches needed to be stopped through sanctions that cut off its military supply chains. Macron, who joined that meeting online, stressed the need to step up pressure on Russia, saying joint efforts on sanctions and restrictive measures needed to double, along with better coordination.
Burnham also pledged that Britain would give Ukraine stronger support, saying this meant not only air defence but stopping Russia's missile launches altogether. He said Britain would help develop new technologies and deepen cooperation with Ukraine.
