President Volodymyr Zelensky said France has agreed to train additional Ukrainian pilots for the Mirage jets Kyiv has received during his Friday call with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The two also discussed bolstering Ukraine’s air defense systems and plans for the so-called “Coalition of the Willing,” a post-war peacekeeping initiative championed by the UK and France. Zelensky said the call lasted approximately an hour.

On air defense, Zelensky said the two discussed the possibility of procuring more SAMP/T missiles for Kyiv and funding for interceptor drones without specifying if any agreements have been reached.

“We also talked in detail about strengthening Ukrainian air defense, in particular, about the supply of missiles for SAMP/T systems and financing of interceptor drones,” Zelensky wrote on X.

The SAMP/T is essentially Europe’s homegrown alternative to the US’s Patriot air defense systems. Ukraine currently operates an unspecified number of SAMP/Ts.

The talks on acquiring more SAMP/T missiles align with Paris’s recent move to prioritize European-made arms, opting out of a NATO plan to buy US weapons for Ukraine.

Zelensky hinted that the work is ongoing as they “will prepare joint decisions with France and partners at the level of defense ministers and foreign ministers on new steps in protecting the lives of our people from Russian strikes.”

Zelensky added that France “is ready to accept additional pilots for training on additional aircraft” for the Mirage-2000 multirole fighters donated to Kyiv.

Kyiv received its first batch of Mirage sometime between late January and early February. While the exact number of Mirage-2000s operated by Kyiv is unclear, Ukraine’s Air Force said the jet has already been used to fend off Russian drones and missiles during a sortie in March.

Zelensky also thanked France for its role in the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, adopted the same day, which included lowering the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $47.60 per barrel.

Regarding the “Coalition of the Willing,” Zelensky said the two had discussed “the implementation of the agreements of the recent meeting,” referring to the recent visit of Macron to the UK, where the two nations unveiled more details for the so-called “reassurance force.”

According to a statement issued after the visit, the plans for the peacekeeping troops consist of a headquarters in Paris, securing Ukrainian airspace, and naval demining in the Black Sea to help Ukraine rebuild its military – but only after the “cessation of hostilities.”

“We welcomed the development of mature operational plans to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine’s skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” says a press release from UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s office at the time.