Ukrainian troops will march through Brussels for the first time. A Ukrainian unit will take part in Belgium's National Day military parade on 21 July, Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken announced.
The Brussels appearance comes a week after Ukrainian troops marched at France's Bastille Day parade, also a first. The same units and soldiers who were in Paris will march in Belgium, according to Francken's spokesperson, per VRT.
"For the first time ever, a Ukrainian detachment will march along on 21 July. Extremely proud of this. Slava Ukraini. Never surrender," the minister wrote.
Ukraine becomes part of defense parades in Europe
Unlike in Paris, where Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended in person and watched from the presidential tribune, the Ukrainian president will not be in Brussels.
In Paris, Ukrainian pilots co-piloted French Mirage 2000B jets in the opening flyover.
The back-to-back parade appearances are a small piece of a larger European effort to fold Ukraine into the continent's defense and ceremonial life.
Two national days, one week, same Ukrainian soldiers
The symbolism runs through the calendar. On 14 July, Ukrainian troops marched on the Champs-Élysées among representatives of the Coalition of the Willing, the European planning body developing security guarantees for Ukraine after any ceasefire.
A week later, the same soldiers march in Brussels, the city that houses both NATO and EU headquarters, for Belgium's National Day, which marks the 1831 inauguration of the country's first king.
Belgium has been among Ukraine's steady European backers. It has committed F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, pledged long-term military aid, and joined the coalition of countries building Ukraine's post-ceasefire security architecture.
Putting Ukrainian soldiers in its National Day parade is a public, high-visibility signal of that alignment, the gesture that has multiplied across Europe as the war has continued.
