French President Emmanuel Macron called Russia "one of the last imperial colonial powers," AFP reported.

"Russia has launched an offensive against Ukraine. This is a territorial war, the likes of which we thought had disappeared from European soil. It is a war of the early 20th century, even the 19th century," Macron said, speaking in Benini as part of his African tour in an attempt to reset France's relations with the continent, where many countries are former French colonies.

"I say this in a continent that has suffered from colonial imperialism," Macron said.

"Russia is one of the last imperial colonial powers that decided to invade a neighboring country to protect its interests," he said, accusing the Kremlin of unleashing "a new type of hybrid world war."

"They have decided that information, energy and food are military tools put in the service of an imperialist continental war against Ukraine," he said.