The first joint military exercises of the Coalition of the Willing, led by Britain and France, will take place in October and November this year.. French President Emmanuel Macron stated this during a meeting of the Coalition in Kyiv on August 24. He mentioned the upcoming maneuvers, speaking about the priorities of the allies in supporting Ukraine and providing it with security guarantees after the end of the war, Suspilne reports..

These exercises were already discussed at the July meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing”. Then it became known that about 1.5 thousand military personnel from Great Britain and France were to arrive in Poland in September. They will take part in international exercises of the Coalition countries.

The maneuvers, planned for October and November, should help the allies to establish joint work between military units. They should also strengthen the security of Europe's eastern flank.

During the same meeting, Macron announced the need for new sanctions against Russia. According to him, they should not allow the Kremlin to purchase oil, gas and diesel fuel from Western countries through intermediaries..

Macron noted that Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries and sanctions against the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation have already affected the Russian fuel market. Russia, which was previously an exporter of fuel, is now forced to import it.

“There has been a significant change if you look at the numbers over the last few weeks and months. Russia now purchases diesel fuel, oil and gas from third countries. And it is very important that we have a new series of sanctions. Until recently, this never happened, because Russia was an exporter. But thanks to our actions, Russia is forced to import,” Macron emphasized.

He called on the allies to continue jointly putting pressure on the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation. Macron proposed holding a separate ministerial meeting within the next few weeks dedicated to fighting him.

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Macron also warned that Russia will continue to carry out hybrid attacks against Western countries in response to their support for Ukraine..

The “Coalition of the Willing” was created in March 2025 to support Ukraine and prepare security guarantees after the end of the war. Allies are also discussing the possible deployment of a multinational force in Ukraine. In July, Keir Starmer said more than 25 countries were ready to join such a force..

The latest meetings of the Coalition were devoted to strengthening the defense of Ukraine. In particular, the partners agreed on joint production of weapons and strengthening air defense.