Ukrainian soldiers march during the national holiday in Paris

Paris – 14/07/2026: Twenty-five soldiers from the Ukrainian presidential guard took part in the military parade on the Champs-Élysées on the occasion of the French national holiday. They marched as part of the Coalition of the Willing, whose delegations marked the opening of the parade. President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the ceremony in Paris.

The presence of the Ukrainian unit gave the traditional parade an exceptionally direct political significance. France placed the 2026 edition under the banner of a European Union and partners better able to act strategically. The military representation was intended not only to demonstrate solidarity with Kyiv, but also to signal Europe’s willingness to assume greater responsibility for the security of the continent.

According to the Ministry of Defence, delegations from 35 states of the Coalition of the Willing were represented. In total, around 500 foreign soldiers opened the parade, followed by the 25 Ukrainian servicemembers. In addition to European states, Canada, Australia and Japan also took part. The ministry had announced more than 6,000 marching soldiers and 36 foreign nations for the parade as a whole.

The Coalition of the Willing is a political initiative led by France and the United Kingdom. Its aim is to organize security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire while continuing support for the Ukrainian armed forces. According to the French presentation, the focus is on restoring Ukraine’s military capabilities as well as possible guarantees on land, in the air and at sea.

The parade was preceded by a meeting of the coalition’s heads of state and government in Paris on 13/07/2026. Zelensky took part as a guest. The meeting was devoted to coordinating European support commitments and the question of how a lasting peace agreement could be guaranteed against renewed Russian aggression. No concrete decision on the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine was on the agenda of the parade.

For Macron, the national holiday was thus visibly linked to the reorientation of French security policy. The parade remained a ceremony of the French armed forces, but the foreign contingents gave it a European framework. The Ukrainian presidential guard stood at the end of this international bloc and at the same time embodied its country’s ongoing defensive war against the Russian invasion.

This symbolism also has institutional significance: France demonstrated the link between national defense, European deterrence and support for an attacked partner. However, the coalition’s ability to develop robust security structures from this will depend on the political decisions of its member states, long-term military financing and the development of the war.