• The Coalition of the Willing plans to hold joint military exercises in countries bordering Ukraine in preparation for a multinational support force.
• French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the coalition now has a multinational force ready for deployment to support Ukraine.
• More than 35 countries have joined the Coalition of the Willing, pledging to provide Ukraine with security assurances and not leave it to face a renewed Russian attack alone.

The Coalition of the Willing, a group of Western countries supporting Ukraine's defence against Russia, plans to hold joint military exercises in countries bordering Ukraine in the coming months as part of preparations for a planned multinational support force.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday after talks in Paris with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the drills would demonstrate that the coalition was "ready, determined and credible - on land, in the air and at sea."

Macron said the coalition now had a multinational force for Ukraine that was ready for deployment. The exercises are intended to test operational plans for the force, which was announced earlier this year as a deterrent measure and a way to support Ukraine's armed forces in peacetime, including through training and securing airspace and maritime areas.

Macron also reaffirmed plans to provide Ukraine with additional weapons systems. "Supporting Ukraine is an investment in our own security," he said, warning that those who believed the war would end at Ukraine's borders if Kiev was abandoned were mistaken.

More than 35 countries have joined the Coalition of the Willing. In a Paris declaration earlier this year, members pledged to provide Ukraine with legally binding security assurances and not leave it to face a renewed Russian attack alone.

Following Monday's talks, coalition members are expected to attend France's National Day military parade on Tuesday. The German government said Chancellor Merz would also take part.