French FM pledges continued 'massive' support to Ukraine

STORY: "The support we’re bringing is massive. It mobilizes all the components of the French state be it in terms of humanitarian, financial aid and military or diplomatic assistance as part of a package that already amounts to more than 2 billion dollars," Colonna said at a news conference that followed talks in Kyiv with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

She also said the recent U.N. General Assembly and Security Council meeting showed Russia was increasingly isolated and pushed an incoherent narrative. "No one at the Security Council spoke to support Russia's position," she said, adding, "If Russia goes ahead with organizing these illegal referenda, there will be sanctions from the European Union, with my country's full support."

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, was holding votes for a fifth and final day on Tuesday in four Ukrainian regions partly controlled by Moscow – Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia – on whether or not to secede to Russia.

The West and Kyiv say the referendums are illegal and a sham and Ukraine urged the European Union to impose economic sanctions on Russia to punish it.