A few hundred French teachers on Thursday angry with the government's COVID-19 rules took to the streets of Paris for a second time this month.

The United States has again threatened Russia with “severe costs” if it launches any military action in neighboring Ukraine, despite Moscow’s repeated denials.

The European Union must conduct its own dialogue with Russia rather than supporting diplomatic efforts led by the United States and NATO, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

The United States has given permission to three fellow-NATO member states in the Baltic region to send US-made missiles and other armaments to Ukraine, sources say, amid boiling tensions between Russia and the West over the ex-Soviet country.

Kyiv has thanked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for Washington's increasing military assistance.

The Biden administration has approved $200 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, a senior US State Department official has declared, amid heightening tensions with Russia over the issue.

Russia has ruled out any further talks with the United States and NATO over the situation around Ukraine unless the West responds properly to its security demands.