Ukraine and 9 other countries announce a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles

Paris, Jul 13 (AP) Ukraine and nine other countries on Monday announced they were forming a coalition to protect Europe from ballistic missiles, taking advantage of Kyiv's experience of fighting Russia's full-scale invasion for over four years. “Our goal is to build a shared ballistic missile defense capability for Europe,” the 10 nations said in a statement in Paris at talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy was Paris asking two dozen European leaders for help developing measures against Russia's ballistic missiles, which have pummeled his country. Europe is wary of Moscow's wider ambitions on the continent. Zelenskyy and the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom said they recognized “the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles,” which are harder to stop than cruise missiles or drones. “We believe that protecting Europe requires a comprehensive solution, in the form of an integrated missile defense architecture, to deter and neutralize future missile threats,” the statement said. “We recognize Ukraine's unique experience, gained through its defense against the war of aggression waged by Russia.” The statement gave no time frame for setting up the defense system, and said the plan remained open to other countries. Putin shows no sign Russia is backing down ---------------------------------------------- Russian President Vladimir Putin was unyielding, vowing Monday emphatic retaliation to Kyiv's recent long-range attacks on refineries, tankers and terminals that have caused widespread fuel shortages. “Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, but our strikes will be several times more powerful,” Putin told a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists. European foreign ministers were meeting separately in Brussels where they were expected to discuss Ukraine's needs and Russia's threats to the continent. “Our top priority is anti-ballistic defense,” Zelenskyy said on social media after arriving in Paris. Zelenskyy is keen to accelerate efforts to jointly developing with European countries anti-ballistic air defenses ahead of the winter, when Russia usually intensifies its attacks to deny Ukrainians electricity, heat and water. Ukrainian officials will present a proposed Anti-Ballistic Program and meet with government leaders, national security advisers and defense companies who might take part, Zelenskyy said. US President Donald Trump's pledge last week to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriot air defense systems to counter the ballistic missiles could mark a major breakthrough for Kyiv. However, experts and Ukrainian officials warn that turning the idea into reality would probably take years. It was not clear how quickly a new European system could be built. Zelenskyy said he would also meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, while the Ukrainian military will participate in the parade marking Bastille Day, France's national holiday. Ukraine wants to push Putin into negotiations -------------------------------------------------- Kyiv and its European backers want to press home Ukraine's recent successes and compel Putin to negotiate an end to the fighting, although Moscow has shown no willingness to compromise despite peace efforts by the Trump administration. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow will closely follow the Paris meeting but dismissed its aspirations. “This is a coalition of warmongers,” Peskov said. “They are driven by the profound delusion that it's possible to inflict a strategic defeat on our country, so this is a coalition of the deluded, a coalition of those who incite the war.” Ukraine's advances in drone technology have given it an edge in recent months, analysts and Western officials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front have robbed the Russian army of momentum on the battlefield and made its progress slow and costly, they say. Ukraine says it hit 105 Russian vessels in 8 days ---------------------------------------------------- Ukrainian forces struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula between July 6-13, said Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. The vessels included tankers, dry cargo ships, a ferry and tugboats, Brovdi said on the Telegram messaging app. The campaign is part of a broader Ukrainian effort to isolate the Crimean Peninsula, which is enduring its worst fuel crisis since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014, and disrupt Russian logistics. Crimea is a key rear base for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine. It was not possible to independently verify the claims, and Russian officials made no immediate comment. Putin on Monday again acknowledged fuel shortages in Russia caused by Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities but said, “I believe the situation will gradually improve.” European leaders demonstrate their commitment to Kyiv ------------------------------------------------------------ The Paris meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which brings together more than 30 countries supporting Ukraine, was expected to include about 25 heads of state and government. The notably high number of leaders appeared to be a demonstration of long-term commitment to Ukraine and a warning to Russia, as Moscow tests Europe's resilience. Zelenskyy's trip to the French capital followed the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters in Washington. Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called Graham "the closest link between Ukraine, our president and Trump.” The trip also comes amid a major reshuffle of Zelenskyy's government that saw Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko step down Sunday. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he would summon the Russian ambassador to France and impose sanctions against Russian hackers. He told BFMTV-RMC that the issue is about “a vast cyber campaign aimed at sabotage and espionage, carried out by Russia in about 10 European countries.” Ukraine's neighbors have also felt the war's impact. In the latest incident, a drone launched during Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine's Odesa region crashed and exploded on Moldova's territory, Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday. It said the incident was “serious and unacceptable.” Ukraine fires over 300 drones toward Moscow ------------------------------------------------- Ukraine has aimed at targets deep inside Russia with its domestically developed long-range drones and missiles. Russian air defenses downed 350 Ukrainian drones heading toward Moscow since late Sunday, including 50 near the capital, the capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 81 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, adding that three people were killed and three were injured by the attack in the Pionersky settlement in the western part of the Moscow region. The Ukrainian air force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 134 long-range strike drones and three guided aviation missiles at Ukraine. A strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region set fire to a docked merchant vessel carrying fertilizer under the flag of Togo, killing five crew members and wounding 10, said regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Russia says it thwarted a major Ukraine drone operation ------------------------------------------------------------ Russia's Federal Security Service said it had thwarted a Ukrainian plan for a drone attack on the Ukrainka air base in the far eastern Amur region and the Shagol air base in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals. Small drones were smuggled into Russia's western Bryansk region using air balloons and bigger transport drones, then taken by car near the air bases by Ukrainian agents, who were arrested, the security service said. The purported plot was part of a series of planned drone strikes on military infrastructure “unprecedented in its scale and the level of threat,” it added. A Ukrainian covert operation a year ago, dubbed Operation Spiderweb, destroyed or damaged nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet with drones carried secretly into Russia, according to Ukrainian officials. (AP) AMS