Ten European countries – including Ukraine – announced the creation of an integrated defense alliance against ballistic missiles.
In addition to Ukraine, the association includes Great Britain and eight EU countries – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
The coalition plans to create an integrated missile defense architecture to deter future missile threats. The new concept will complement existing missile defense systems in European countries.
In the first phase, coalition members plan to establish technical working groups and begin developing a roadmap to assess comprehensive operational capabilities.
European countries have been considering options to reconfigure their security systems in recent months amid deteriorating relations with the United States and Donald Trump’s threats to withdraw the country from NATO. The European Union wants to rely less on the United States in defense matters, especially against the backdrop of a possible direct conflict with Russia.