🔴Follow live: Macron speaks as Ukraine’s ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting ends in Paris

Ukraine has ordered 16 Rafale fighter jets, an initial batch of new-generation SAMP/T surface-to-air defense batteries, and licenses for the production of several capabilities, including the Scalp cruise missile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday after a meeting of more than 20 "Coalition of the Willing" leaders in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that France would allow Ukraine to produce French-made cruise missiles, precision-guided bombs, and air defense interceptor missiles after Kyiv ordered next-generation Franco-Italian air defense systems and Rafale fighter jets. "Earlier this afternoon President (Volodymyr) Zelensky and I agreed on a roadmap between our two countries, implementing what had been agreed in principle last November regarding our bilateral defense cooperation," Macron said at a news conference following a meeting of some 25 leaders in Paris.

Macron's announcement marked the first time France has agreed to license production to Ukraine, a move that would enable it to ramp up stocks at a time when Russia is intensifying strikes on the country. The production centers around AASM precision-guided air-to-ground bombs, Aster air-defense interceptor missiles, and SCALP, long-range air-launched cruise missiles, which Britain also produces. Macron said radar systems were also being ceded to Ukraine. He said Zelensky had also ordered the delivery of next-generation SAMP-T air defense systems, which would follow deliveries of the older version and a batch of missiles. Sixteen Rafale warplanes would also be delivered with a view to operating in Ukraine's skies by 2028-2029, Macron said.

Macron also said Ukraine's allies had agreed to begin military exercises in countries neighboring Ukraine as part of a plan for a multinational force that would deploy once there is a ceasefire with Russia.

Anti-ballistic missile coalition Nine European countries and Ukraine on Monday announced the formation of a coalition to develop "purely defensive" anti-ballistic capabilities in Europe, citing the growing threat of ballistic missiles.