Macron promises to restore Ukraine to its former glory as the French President speaks with Zelensky

French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to help Ukraine restore its “full sovereignty”, in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky.

The leaders discussed Russia’s “illegal referendums” and their attempt to annex specific territories of Ukraine.

Macron says a tough, consolidated response was necessary from the international community.

They also discussed the importance of defence support for Ukraine and ways to enhance it.

“The head of the Ukrainian state thanked the President of France for his strong condemnation of the illegal referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and Russia’s attempts to illegally annex these territories of Ukraine,” Zelensky’s office said.

It follows Ukraine formally requesting an “accelerated” application to join the NATO alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the number one priority is supporting Ukraine.

“We reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We do not recognise and will never recognise Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the West stands for “satanism”.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was quick to shut down the Russian leaders comments.