Ukraine's allies pledge to continue support despite Russian threats

Ukraine’s allies on Monday pledged to maintain their support for Kyiv despite escalating Russian attacks and threats from Moscow as they gathered in the Ukrainian capital on Independence Day.

Air defence supplies topped the agenda at a meeting of 30 leaders from the so-called Coalition of the Willing. The meeting was jointly chaired remotely by the leaders of France and Germany and in person by Britain’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Burnham arrived in Kyiv for his first foreign trip since taking office, joining other European leaders and EU Council President Antonio Costa.

“Despite Russia’s outrageous threats to my country, we will continue our support for Ukraine’s defence,” Burnham said.

Russia has recently intensified missile attacks on Kyiv, striking residential buildings and killing dozens of people in the capital.

The escalating Russian strikes have pushed civilian deaths in Ukraine to their highest level since the early months of Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

A Russian drone attack on Chernigiv, north of Kyiv, wounded 15 people, Ukraine’s emergency services said. In the eastern city of Izyum, one person was killed and nine others wounded in shelling, local authorities said.

“Right now, things are really very difficult for all of us. But there is a force holding us firmly by the hand,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address, referring to the “strength of our mutual circle”.

Zelensky later told the leaders that he wanted to increase production of drones and missiles so Ukraine could launch more attacks against Russia in response to its strikes.

“For that, we need more money -- much more,” he said.

Burnham told the allies that “the clear message to Putin should be that Ukraine will never give up territory that Russia cannot win on the battlefield, and negotiations must start from the line of contact.”

French President Emmanuel Macron warned that Russia would seek to escalate tensions with European countries to discourage them from supporting Ukraine.

“It’s clear that NATO countries will be targeted and the provocations will multiply,” he said.

‘Pandora’s box’

The European Union said on Monday that it had released another 6.1 billion euros ($7.1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine to strengthen its air defences.

The funding is part of a 90-billion-euro loan package for Ukraine, including 60 billion euros in military assistance, that the EU has pledged.

Ahead of the talks, Ukraine stepped up its campaign against Russian logistics infrastructure, targeting several warehouses belonging to e-commerce giant Ozon.

Ozon reported fires early Monday at two warehouses in southern Russia and said two other sites had been evacuated following threats of drone attacks.

Russian authorities said debris from a Ukrainian drone attack killed three children and wounded eight others.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Kyiv had “opened Pandora’s box” by targeting Russia’s economy and promised further escalation, including attacks on Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure.

In Kyiv, Burnham announced that Britain would authorise defence company MBDA to release classified information needed to help Ukraine and France establish local production of the long-range Storm Shadow/SCALP missile.

The Kremlin accused London of obstructing peace efforts in Ukraine by sharing the information with Kyiv and threatened to target and “destroy” facilities producing the missile in Ukraine.

Macron pledged on Saturday that France would deliver additional interceptor missiles.

The ballistic missiles Russia has been firing in large numbers travel at extremely high speeds and follow high-arching trajectories, making them difficult for Ukraine to intercept.

Ukraine relies on advanced air-defence systems, particularly US-made Patriot interceptors, to protect its skies.

However, Kyiv has reported shortages of Patriot interceptors since the United States and Israel went to war with Iran in February, diverting supplies.

Ukraine faces Patriot missile shortfall

Ahead of Monday’s meeting, Zelensky revealed the scale of the shortage, releasing figures that are normally kept closely guarded.

He said deliveries of critical Patriot interceptors had fallen by half since 2023.

“Over the entire of 2023, Ukraine received 675 missiles, and over all of 2025 -- 364, even though Russian missile strikes have increased,” Zelensky said.

“For 2026, as currently projected, it is 264,” he added, saying Ukraine was seeking a package of at least 300 interceptors ahead of the coming winter.