French President: Russia is using gas as a weapon of war in Ukraine French President Emmanuel Macron said that his government is seeking to reduce gas and energy prices despite the global economic crisis following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. On the second day of a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels on Friday, Macron accused Russia of using gas as another weapon of war against Ukraine.

He stressed that his government wanted to work on a mechanism that would allow preparation for the coming winter, especially that Russia could prevent gas from reaching France.

The Ukrainian authorities announced that a series of explosions rocked the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhia on Friday, after Russian forces intensified missile strikes on Ukraine in the past few weeks, targeting electric power facilities.

The rockets hit an industrial facility in the city on Friday, Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, said, adding that rescuers had not yet assessed the extent of the damage or confirmed any casualties.