Macron pledges faster delivery of French military equipment to Ukraine

Kyiv, Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to accelerate deliveries of new French equipment and missiles to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said after a call focused on Kyiv’s air defence shortage.

Zelenskiy said Macron was also prepared to approach allies holding stocks of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors.

Air defence needs

Zelenskiy said he spoke with Macron for almost two hours on Saturday. The Patriot system is the only weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of intercepting high-speed ballistic missiles used by Russia.

As Russia has intensified airstrikes, Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on allies to supply more interceptor missiles for the systems, which Ukraine lacks.

Ukraine is also awaiting the new Italo-French SAMP/T-NG missile defence system. Many experts say it should be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, although it has not been battle-tested. European diplomats had previously said it was not expected to arrive in Ukraine before next spring.

French deliveries and missile production

“We agreed to accelerate the delivery of the latest French equipment and missiles,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram, without providing further details.

“Thank you for confirming the readiness to provide licenses for missile production,” he added.

The Aster missile used by the SAMP/T system is produced by Eurosam, a European joint venture between missile maker MBDA and France’s Thales.

Russian strikes and response

Ukraine has struck economic targets inside Russia in response to Russian attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the campaign had opened a “Pandora’s box” and that Moscow would respond by targeting Kyiv’s “most sensitive economic sectors”.

In a statement on X, Macron said he had conveyed his “horror and deep emotion” to Zelenskiy over a Russian drone strike on a crowded shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih on Friday. The strike killed at least 16 people and wounded 130.

“By systematically targeting civilians and choosing intimidation and escalation, Russia is likely seeking to project strength, but is above all revealing its weakness,” Macron said.