President Zelenskiy was in Paris on July 13 for a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, joining some 25 heads of state and government at the Hôtel des Invalides to sign up to deals supplying desperately needed air defence systems, ammunition and fighter jets. Hosted by Emmanuel Macron, the gathering has now grown to 37 nations, with Moldova and North Macedonia the latest to join.

Zelenskiy told delegates during his speech in Paris: "I thank France for its readiness to support Ukraine with additional air defence systems and missiles as early as this year. I also thank France for its readiness to provide licenses for ASTER and SCALP – this will be of great help. I thank the United Kingdom and Germany for their consistently tangible steps to help protect lives. There will be new defence packages for Ukraine."

The urgency of that plea was underscored within hours. Overnight into July 14, Russia launched a fresh ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, with mayor Vitali Klitschko reporting that air-defence units were engaging incoming missiles and that fires had broken out in the city's Holosiivskyi district — a grim rejoinder to a summit convened expressly to stop such strikes. A day earlier, a Russian strike on the port of Odesa had hit a Togolese-flagged cargo vessel unloading fertiliser, killing five people and injuring ten, part of a weekend of attacks that left several more dead.

As the missile war escalates, Ukraine is scraping the barrel, leaving the skies over major cities dangerously exposed. Russia has been pounding Kyiv and other urban centres with missiles on a near-nightly basis, amid a worldwide shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles.

During the Ankara Nato summit on July 8, President Donald Trump promised to grant Ukraine a licence to make Patriots — but experts say it will take years before the first interceptor rolls off a Ukrainian production line. In the meantime, Zelenskiy needs air defence systems from wherever he can find them. Efforts to restart ceasefire talks remain stalled, and Bankova is clearly preparing for at least another two years of war, bracing in the short term for an expected repeat of President Vladimir Putin's attempt to freeze Ukraine into submission this winter.

Zelenskiy admitted that in the drones vs missiles race, “ballistic missiles is Russia’s last advantage,” but added that the more Russian ballistic missiles Ukraine can shoot down, the greater the chance Putin comes to the table, "as his last argument in this war will no longer work."

France has come to Ukraine's rescue with a major expansion of military aid. During the summit, Macron said France would follow Washington's technology-sharing lead and grant Ukraine licences to manufacture its SCALP cruise missiles, AASM precision-guided air-to-ground bombs and the Aster interceptor missiles used by the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defence system — the first time Paris has licensed such capabilities to Kyiv. Ukraine has also ordered a batch of next-generation SAMP/T batteries, built by Eurosam, to follow earlier deliveries of the older version.

Increasingly, the emphasis is shifting from supplying Ukraine with materiel from US and EU stockpiles, to enabling Kyiv to make its own munitions. Earlier this year Zelenskiy said Ukraine now produces 60% of the arms and ammunition it needs. At the same time, a growing raft of joint-venture factories on European territory is springing up under the so-called Danish model — producing weapons outside Ukraine, with a particular focus on drones as part of Europe's effort to build a "Drone Wall."

Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition

The centrepiece of the day was the launch of a new Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition (IABMC), bringing together Ukraine and nine European countries — Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom — to develop an integrated air and missile defence architecture. In a joint statement, the ten said protecting Europe required "a global solution of integrated missile defence architecture to deter and defeat future missile threats." Around a dozen defence firms took part, including SAMP/T maker Eurosam, Leonardo, Thales, Saab and Ukraine's Fire Point — a sign this is a concrete industrial programme rather than a communiqué.

At its heart is FREYJA, Ukraine's bid to build a European-backed, lower-cost alternative to the American Patriot. Zelenskiy was careful to cast it as a complement rather than a competitor.

"Europe needs more anti-ballistic defence. Together, we can build such a system. Ukraine is ready to deliver its part: the anti-ballistic missile. We are now finalizing it. It is important to confirm politically that FREYJA is our common project, in the interests of all of Europe," he said in a social media post, adding that the system was "a way to supplement our defence, create a strong shield over the entirety of Europe and do all of this faster and at a lower cost."

Macron also said Ukraine intends to acquire 16 French Rafale fighter jets, with deliveries expected to allow the aircraft to enter service in 2028–29.

There was a political changing of the guard, too. It was the last coalition meeting for Britain's Keir Starmer, who noted he had resigned as prime minister on June 22; he used the occasion to thank partners and confirm the UK would join the EU's roughly €90bn loan to keep ammunition, air defence and long-range missiles flowing to Ukraine. And in a personal note, Zelenskiy awarded Macron the Order of Freedom, calling the French president "a true friend of Ukraine."