A missile defense system comparable to the American Patriot system is being developed in Ukraine with the help of European partners under a project called Freya, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this evening.

"I would say it is a European system, but it remains under our control. The project is our ballistic missile system, which should be equivalent to Patriot in terms of interception capabilities, but is aimed more at mass production and is cheaper. This, at least, is the goal that I have set for our manufacturers," the Ukrainian president said in an audio message to journalists broadcast on social networks.

The first meeting with potential partners should be held "very soon in France," Zelensky added without specifying a date.

The Ukrainian president said the project will take years.

According to a previous article by the British newspaper Financial Times, the interceptor called FP-7.X was tested last month in Ukraine.