Macron pledges missile interceptors to Ukraine as Russian strikes intensify
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to accelerate delivery of interceptor missiles and production licences to Ukraine after talks with President Zelenskyy, as Russian attacks push civilian casualties to their highest since early invasion months.
French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to strengthen military support for Ukraine with the delivery of interceptor missiles, following a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that focused on Kyiv’s acute shortage of air defences. The move comes as Russian strikes intensify, pushing civilian deaths in the war to their highest level since the first months of Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Macron said France would continue working with the Anti-Missile Coalition, a group of ten European countries launched at a Paris meeting in July to develop an anti-ballistic missile system as a cheaper alternative to the US-made Patriot. The Patriot is currently the only weapon in Ukraine’s arsenal capable of intercepting the high-speed ballistic missiles that Russia has used heavily in recent months, particularly against Kyiv. These weapons reach their targets within minutes, leaving residents little time to reach shelters.
During the call, Macron also confirmed France’s readiness to provide licences for the production of interceptor missiles, the SCALP long-range cruise missile, and other munitions in Ukraine. Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram: “We agreed to accelerate the delivery of the latest French equipment and missiles. Thank you for confirming the readiness to provide licences for missile production.” Macron wrote on X: “It is crucial to provide Ukraine with all the necessary means to defend its skies and thwart this aggression.”
The pledge comes amid a wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine. On Saturday, a ballistic missile was fired at Kyiv in the middle of the day, while German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was visiting for talks with Zelenskyy. Two people were killed and several wounded in the Boryspil district on the eastern outskirts of the capital. In Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s home town, a missile strike on a shopping centre killed 16 people, with rescuers sifting through the rubble. Macron expressed his “horror and emotion” over the attack.
Russian strikes also hit the Odesa region, where governor Oleg Kiper reported three wounded, including a 16-year-old girl, in a “prolonged and combined strike” that damaged a house and grain silos. At least four people were killed in a series of strikes on the frontline Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials said. Russia’s defence ministry said it had targeted trucks carrying long-range drones near Kyiv and Ukrainian army-linked sites in the Odesa region.
Ukraine has also stepped up its own drone attacks on Russian territory and occupied areas. At least ten people were killed in strikes across Russia and Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including a warehouse owned by online retailer Ozon and an industrial facility, according to Russian officials. Ozon, Russia’s second-largest online retailer, said the attack caused injuries. The strike is the first on Ozon after weeks of drone attacks on its larger rival Wildberries, which Ukraine has framed as part of a campaign against economic infrastructure supporting Russia’s war effort.
On the Crimean peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014, a Ukrainian drone struck a city bus in Sevastopol, killing at least two people and injuring ten, according to Moscow-backed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev. In the Luhansk region, almost entirely under Russian control, Moscow-installed governor Leonid Pasechnik said two civilians, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed and nine wounded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Ukraine’s strikes, which Kyiv says aim to cut off financing for Moscow’s war, had opened a “Pandora’s box” of Russian retaliation. Diplomacy remains stalled, with the US, which had brokered direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow, now focused on its conflict with Iran. Ukraine’s allies in the Coalition of the Willing, led by France and Britain, are due to meet on Monday to discuss ways to increase pressure on Moscow to end the invasion.
