Russia-Ukraine crisis: ‘This war will last’ – President Macron declares as France seizes Russian ship

 France President Emmanuel Macron has declared that the war which started in Europe on Thursday between Russia and Ukraine “will last”.

Macron warned that the world must brace for a long war between Russia and Ukraine, saying, “I can tell you one thing this morning – it is that this war will last,” he told France’s annual agriculture fair, one of the main fixtures on the country’s political calendar.

“This crisis will last, this war will last and all the crises that come with it will have lasting consequences,” Macron added.

Meanwhile, French sea police have seized a ship that authorities suspect belongs to a Russian company targeted by European Union sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Aljazeera quotes France official, Captain Veronique Magnin of the French Maritime Prefecture.

Magnin said the “Baltic Leader” – a cargo vessel – was headed from Rouen, in Normandy, for the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

It was stopped in the English Channel and diverted to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer in Northern France in the early hours of Saturday morning, Magnin added.

She said ongoing checks were being carried out by customs officials and the ship’s crew was “being cooperative.”

The Russian embassy in France is seeking an explanation from authorities over the seizure, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday afternoon as President Vladimir Putin seeks to topple the country.