KYIV, Aug 22 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to accelerate the delivery of new French equipment to Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, following a call in which they discussed Kyiv's shortage of air defences.
Zelenskiy 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.
The Patriot air defence system is the only weapon in Ukraine's arsenal capable of downing high-speed ballistic missiles used by Russia in its war in Ukraine.
As Russia has escalated airstrikes, Zelenskiy has repeatedly appealed to allies to provide more of the interceptor missiles for the system, of which Ukraine has a shortage.
Ukraine has responded by striking economic targets inside Russia in a campaign which Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday had opened a "Pandora's box", adding that Moscow would hit back at Kyiv's "most sensitive economic sectors".
Ukraine is also awaiting delivery of the new Italo-French SAMP/T-NG missile defence system, which many experts say should be capable of downing ballistic missiles although it has not yet been battle-tested. European diplomats had previously said it was not expected to arrive in Ukraine before spring next year.
"We agreed to accelerate the delivery of the latest French equipment and missiles," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app, without providing further details. "Thank you for confirming the readiness to provide licenses for missile production."
The Aster missile used in the SAMP/T system is produced by Eurosam, a European joint venture between European missile maker MBDA and France's Thales.
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.
'COALITION OF THE WILLING' MEETING
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.
The meeting in July, hosted by Macron in Paris, launched a grouping of 10 European countries to develop an anti-ballistic missile system as a cheaper alternative to the Patriot.
At that time, Macron said France would advance the deployment of the new SAMP/T system to Ukraine and license Kyiv to manufacture the interceptor missiles, as well as the SCALP long-range cruise missile and other munitions.
Zelenskiy 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," Zelenskiy said.
Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are due to co-chair a meeting of the so-called Coalition of the Willing group of pro-Ukrainian countries on Monday.
Zelenskiy will be at the meeting in Kyiv, which will be attended both in person and remotely, Macron's office said on Friday, without specifying who will be there in person.
(Reporting by Daniel Flynn and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Timothy Heritage)
