French President Emmanuel Macron has said in Benin that Russia is one of the last colonial imperial powers after launching a war in Ukraine.

"Russia has launched an offensive against Ukraine, it is a war for territory that we thought had disappeared from European soil," Macron said at a press conference with Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon in Cotonou.

"Russia is one of the last colonial imperial powers because it decided to attack a neighboring country to protect its interests there," the French leader said.

According to the French president, who is on a tour of Africa at the same time as the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, Russia has launched a new kind of hybrid world war.

Russia has begun a new type of hybrid global war.

Elle decided that information, energy and food were military instruments mis au service d'une guerre imperialiste continentale contre l'Ukraine.

pic.twitter.com/cuY0OvP71q

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 27, 2022

"It has decided that information, energy and food are military instruments placed at the service of the continental imperialist war against Ukraine," Macron said.

According to him, the Russians are the ones who create imbalances despite all the diplomatic tours and disinformation they spread around the world, and Russia is one of the countries that uses the most propaganda instruments, especially through Russia Today and Sputnik television.

He again condemned Moscow's food blackmail for blocking Ukraine's grain as well as energy for Europeans.

Emmanuel Macron already criticized Moscow the day before, during the visit to Cameroon.

At the same time, Sergey Lavrov stated in Uganda that Russia is not responsible for the energy and food crisis, condemning the campaign being developed around it.

The war in Ukraine has revealed the pre-existence of alimentary dependence for many countries, notably on the African continent.

Pour en sortir, nous devons passer d'une réponse d'urgence à une réponse structuralelle.

C'est l'objectif de l'initiative FARM : pic.twitter.com/ApJ9KcJM6S

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 26, 2022