Ukraine peacekeeping plans 'ready to go' as Kyiv hit by deadly Russian drone attacks
French president Emmanuel Macron, who is on a state visit to the UK, described the so-called coalition of the willing as 'ready to go' once a ceasefire is agreed as European leaders and US representatives dialled into a call.
Under the plans, troops from France and the UK would be placed in Ukraine, while other countries would provide logistical support, all with the aim of deterring further Russian aggression.
The prime minister told the gathered allies: 'I am very pleased to say today that these plans are mature and we are putting them on a long-term footing.'
While the French president added: 'We have a plan that is ready to go and initiate in the hours after a ceasefire.'
Also on Thursday, the UK confirmed up to £283 million will be used in bilateral assistance for Ukraine over the next year and announced the delivery of 5,000 Thales Air Defence missiles supported by a £2.5billion guarantee with a 19-year financing agreement.
Earlier on Thursday, the two leaders also announced that they will purchase new supplies of Storm Shadow missiles, which both countries have loaned to Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russia.
The meeting comes after Ukraine's capital was hit by another Russian mass missile and drone attack overnight into Thursday, the day after the heaviest missile attack of the war.
At least two people were killed and more than 19 people injured in the second night of ferocious attacks on the country, as Russia ramps up its aerial assaults.
18 missiles, including ballistic ones, and nearly 400 drones, 200 of them "shaheds", were used in the 10 hour attack on Kyiv and other nearby regions, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Houses, residential buildings, cars, warehouse facilities, offices and other buildings across the city were damaged and caught fire, with a health care clinic almost completely destroyed, according to city authorities.
Rescue workers were working at a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi District, after falling debris caused a fire on the top floor of an apartment building, said Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko in a post on Telegram.
In a statement on X, Zelenskyy said: This is a clear escalation of terror by Russia — hundreds of "shaheds" every night, constant strikes, and massive attacks on Ukrainian cities.
"This demands that we speed things up. Sanctions must be imposed faster, and pressure on Russia must be strong enough that they truly feel the consequences of their terror."
The Ukrainian president urged for more funding for interceptor drones and confirmed he will be speaking to the Coalition of the Willing later on Thursday.
European leaders met at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome on Thursday to urge private companies and equity funds to invest in the rebuilding of Ukraine, even as Russia's accelerates its war.
Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni opened the conference, where she said individual deals and grants unlocking more than 10 billion euros of investment would be finalised at the conference.
She told the gathering of business and political representatives that "the reconstruction of Ukraine is not a risk. It's an investment in a nation that has shown more resilience than any other".
Overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones, the largest aerial assault the war has seen so far.
It's the third time the record has been broken over two weeks. On July 4, Russia fired 550 drones, less than a week after it launched 477, both the largest aerial strikes to date at the time.
These attacks comes as US-led peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia stall. Zelenskyy said that the Kremlin was 'making a point' with its barrage.
Two rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations have yielded no progress so far on stopping the fighting.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Thursday there is no date for a possible third round of negotiations.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was 'not happy' with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hasn't budged from his ceasefire and peace demands since Trump took office in January and began to push for a settlement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia on Thursday for what could be testy talks following Russia's overnight attack.
Trump said on Monday that the US would have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after Washington paused critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.
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