UPDATE - France ready to support Kyiv in acquiring more weapons, ammunition: Ukraine

ADDS DETAILS ON MEETING BETWEEN UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER, FRENCH PRESIDENT

​​​​​​​By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine said Wednesday that France is ready to support Kyiv in acquiring more weapons and ammunition as the war-torn country continues its defense against Russian attacks in the eastern regions.

“We require additional ammunition and weapons, and France is ready to support us in this area,” Defense Minister Rustem Umerov wrote on Facebook after talks with his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu during a visit to France.

Umerov added that the main topic of talks with Lecornu was the strengthening of Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.

Ukrainian soldiers are undergoing combined arms and specialized training together with French instructors, he said.

“But France is not stopping there -- it is also supplying equipment and weapons for this brigade. We expect that other partners will use this approach as well,” said Umerov.

He also said he informed Lecornu about the situation on the front lines, as well as presented him with a list of the Ukrainian army’s urgent needs.

“We discussed the initiation of a French cooperation format for the production of arms and ammunition,” he said and thanked Lecornu for concrete steps taken by Paris to support Kyiv.

Umerov later said he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron when they both received a briefing from the leadership of the training center used to train Ukrainian soldiers.

"I informed President Macron about Ukraine's readiness to share its experience in UAV operations and assist in establishing a drone operator training center in France," he added.