# French support for Ukrainian aviation and FREYJA system gathers pace as Russian drones hit power sites

*Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 10:06 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-15T22:06:47.824Z (1h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Eastern Europe
**Importance**: 9/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/20651.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: President Volodymyr Zelensky says France will send new support for Ukrainian aviation this month and is helping accelerate work on the European FREYJA anti-ballistic system by year’s end, while Russian drones continue to hit power facilities in cities such as Lutsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv.

New French commitments to Ukraine’s air power are arriving as Russian drones keep testing the country’s energy grid.

After talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on 15 October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said France would provide new packages to strengthen Ukrainian aviation this month. He also said work was speeding up to get the European FREYJA anti-ballistic system operational by the end of the year.

Zelensky stated that Ukraine has received all weapons production licenses promised by France. Those licenses allow Ukrainian industry to produce or assemble French-designed weapons on Ukrainian territory, shifting some of the supply burden from foreign stockpiles to domestic plants.

The timing underscored the pressure on Ukraine’s power system. During his meeting with Macron, Zelensky said Russia struck energy infrastructure in Lutsk with a drone. Separately, a large fire broke out at a private business in Zaporizhzhia after a strike, and in Kyiv’s Nyvky district a private house caught fire when debris from a downed Russian Shahed drone fell on it, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration.

Zelensky also used a visit to Belgium to push for more combat aircraft. He asked King Philippe for stronger support on F-16 fighter jets and ammunition, and said strengthening air defence remains Ukraine’s top priority. According to Zelensky, F-16s and their ammunition are helping to counter Russian jet-powered Shahed drones.

Ukrainian forces continue to engage those drones in combat. Cockpit footage from Ukraine’s 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade shows the unit destroying a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle during one of Russia’s mass drone attacks on Ukraine.

For civilians and industry, the pattern is stark: on the same days Kyiv is trying to lock in future air-defence systems and aircraft, drone strikes set oil depots, private businesses and homes on fire. The question is whether promised systems like FREYJA, new aviation support from France, and expanded use of F-16s arrive fast enough and in sufficient numbers to change that pattern.

Signals to watch now include detailed timelines for the French aviation packages, visible steps toward deploying FREYJA, and concrete decisions by Belgium and other partners on F-16 deliveries and munitions. Together with Ukraine’s new production licenses, those moves will show how quickly the country can strengthen its air defence in the face of continued strikes on its power and fuel infrastructure.