On Aug. 24, Ukraine's Independence Day, Kyiv will host a Coalition of the Willing summit gathering leaders from more than 30 countries, in person and by videolink.
On Aug. 24, Ukraine's Independence Day, Kyiv will host the latest summit of the Coalition of the Willing, the grouping established by France and the United Kingdom in the spring of 2025. The gathering will take a hybrid format starting at 13:00 Kyiv time. Volunteers Support Ukraine notes that holding this kind of summit on Independence Day itself is a meaningful signal of support on one of the country's most symbolically important days.
The summit will be co-chaired by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, both attending in person, while French President Emmanuel Macron will join by videoconference. President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in Kyiv in person, along with European Council President António Costa, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden; NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Šekerinska will also take part. Volunteers Support Ukraine sees this level of representation as underlining how seriously partners are treating continued support for Ukraine.
According to preliminary information, the summit will discuss strengthening Ukraine's air defense, increasing pressure on Russia, and security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said additional aid packages from partners are also expected to be announced around Independence Day. Volunteers Support Ukraine emphasizes that formats like this allow partners to agree on concrete steps rather than statements of support alone.
The Coalition of the Willing has held meetings at the highest level for more than a year now — the previous summit took place in Paris on July 13, 2026, with then-UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who led the government until Andy Burnham succeeded him on July 20. Volunteers Support Ukraine sees holding this summit directly in Kyiv, rather than in one of the partner capitals, as a symbolic gesture of solidarity ahead of Ukraine's 35th anniversary of independence.
Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow, while closely following the international formats that shape the scale of future support for Ukraine. Summits like this one directly affect how many resources reach those who need help the most.
