Paris has rejected claims by Moscow that dozens of French “mercenaries” were killed in a recent Russian strike on a facility in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
“France helps Ukraine with supplies of military material and military training in full compliance with international law,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a Jan. 18 statement.
However, it noted that France, a NATO member, “has no mercenaries, neither in Ukraine nor elsewhere.”
A day earlier, Russia’s military claimed to have carried out a “precision strike” on a facility in Kharkiv, which, it claimed, had been used to house “foreign fighters.”
More than 60 fighters were killed in the strike, which destroyed the facility, the Russian Defense Ministry stated during a briefing. The ministry went on to assert that most of those killed were “French mercenaries.”
It didn’t provide evidence for its assertions, which couldn’t be independently verified by The Epoch Times.
Ukrainian authorities in Kharkiv later said that 17 people—all civilians—had been injured by the Russian strike.
In a statement, Kharkiv’s Kyiv-appointed regional governor said there are no military facilities in the area.
The French Foreign Ministry described Moscow’s claims to the contrary as “another clumsy manipulation” by Russia.
In late 2022, Russian forces largely withdrew from Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. However, in recent months, they’ve sought to retake eastern parts of the region, which Ukrainian forces have used to stage cross-border attacks on Russia’s western region of Belgorod.
On Jan. 18, Russia’s Foreign Ministry requested a meeting with France’s ambassador in Moscow to answer the allegations.
“The ministry summoned the ambassador after a Russian strike on a temporary base for foreign mercenaries in Kharkiv,” a ministry spokeswoman told reporters.
She also repeated claims that “several dozen French nationals” had been stationed at the facility at the time of the strike.
‘Disinformation Plot’
On Jan. 19, Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) announced its intention to raise the issue with France’s National Assembly.“French law prohibits the use of mercenaries,” Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said in a social media post.
“We would like to know if French parliamentarians are aware that [French] fighters are being sent to Ukraine in breach of the law.”
According to French officials, Russia’s “mercenary” claims are part of a propaganda campaign aimed at discrediting Paris.
“It’s a disinformation plot conducted by Russia,” one senior French official told Reuters on Jan. 18.
Since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine almost two years ago, France has remained among Kyiv’s most ardent supporters. Under President Emmanuel Macron, Paris has given Ukraine billions of euros and a range of arms and equipment, including tanks and artillery rounds.
Macron: ‘Russia Cannot Win’
The row between Moscow and Paris has coincided with an apparent doubling down by the latter on its longstanding support for Kyiv.On Jan. 16, Mr. Macron said France planned to supply Ukraine with dozens of long-range SCALP missiles—and hundreds of bombs—in the weeks ahead.
France has already provided Kyiv with some 50 SCALP missiles, which boast a strike range of 250 kilometers (about 155 miles).
Mr. Macron’s announcement appeared designed to offset dwindling U.S. and European support for Ukraine’s war effort.
Declaring that the West “cannot let Russia win,” he announced plans to visit Kyiv next month to finalize a bilateral agreement on security guarantees. In line with the pending security deal, France would step up weapons deliveries to Ukraine, including long-range missiles, the president said.
“We’re going to deliver a lot more equipment and give Ukraine what it needs to defend its skies,” Mr. Macron told reporters.
Russia’s embassy in Paris condemned the move, saying additional Western weapons for Ukraine would only result in more civilian casualties.
“Regarding France’s decision to send more arms to Ukraine, including long-range missiles, we address the question to the French people,” the embassy said in a Jan. 19 statement.
The notion of bilateral “security guarantees” for Ukraine was first raised last summer at a landmark NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. At the summit, Kyiv failed to obtain a formal invitation to join the Western alliance.
But it was assured of NATO’s continued support in the form of bilateral “security guarantees” signed with individual alliance members.
Last week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Kyiv, where he signed the first such bilateral security agreement.
Mr. Sunak also used the occasion to announce stepped-up military funding for Ukraine.
Kyiv is reportedly on track to sign similar bilateral security deals with the United States, Canada, Germany, and Japan.
