French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to accelerate the delivery of new French equipment to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, following a call in which they discussed Kyiv's shortage of air defences, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Zelenskyy said he had spoken for almost two hours with Macron, who expressed his willingness to intercede on Ukraine's behalf with allies who had stocks of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors.
"We agreed to accelerate the delivery of the latest French equipment and missiles," Zelenskyy said on the Telegram app, without providing further details. "Thank you for confirming the readiness to provide licenses for missile production."
In a statement on X, Macron said he had conveyed to Zelenskiy his "horror and deep emotion" over a Russian drone strike on a crowded shopping centre in the town of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, which 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.
Macron said he had agreed to strengthen French support for Ukraine, including through the delivery of interceptor missiles, in line with commitments made last month at the launch of an Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition. He gave no further details.
Zelenskyy said he and Macron had on Saturday also discussed the status of peace talks and communications with Washington.
"We agreed on steps that could open up additional diplomatic opportunities," Zelenskyy said.
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