French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that Paris has replaced the US as the main intelligence provider to Kyiv in the latter’s defense against the Russian invasion.
Macron said that two-thirds of Kyiv’s intelligence capabilities now come from Paris during a speech given to the French army, according to Interfax Ukraine.
“If a year ago Ukraine was predominantly dependent on American intelligence capabilities, today France provides two-thirds of these capabilities. Two-thirds!” Macron said.
In October 2025, unnamed US and Ukrainian officials reportedly told the Financial Times (FT) that Washington secretly helped enable Kyiv’s deep strikes on Russian oil facilities by providing Kyiv with the necessary data.
The data is said to include route planning, altitude, timing and mission details that helped Ukrainian drones evade Russian air defenses.
It is unclear if Macron was referring to the same capabilities, such as satellite and mapping data, that enabled Kyiv’s deep strikes.
A French defense ministry official told Reuters that most capabilities are technical in nature but declined to offer details.
Reuters added that Macron’s assertion contradicted statements from the former head of Kyiv’s military intelligence (HUR) in December, who said Washington remained the key intelligence provider, while HUR declined to comment on Macron’s latest remarks.
In his Thursday speech, Macron also called for accelerated efforts to catch up with new arms developments, as shown by the lessons in Ukraine. He said French arms makers are lagging behind Ukraine in some sectors.
He noted Russia’s recent Oreshnik missile strike on western Ukraine’s Lviv, saying the missile can target Paris and called for similar developments on “these new types of weapons.”
“If we want to remain reliable, we Europeans, and especially France, must develop these new types of weapons that will change the rules of the game in the short term,” Macron added.
The UK and France are Europe’s only nuclear-armed nations, with France the only fully self-sufficient one, as the UK still relies on the US for its nuclear-capable missiles. Macron previously voiced openness to providing a “nuclear umbrella” to other EU allies in February 2025, including the possible deployment of nuclear-capable bombers to Germany.
London and Paris also agreed to send troops to postwar Ukraine to help monitor and maintain a ceasefire – a proposal Moscow rejected, warning the troops would become legitimate targets even in the event of a ceasefire.
But Macron, alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, also pressed the EU to appoint a special negotiator on Ukraine, amid growing concern that Washington could strike a deal with Russia without consulting Europe.