DISINFO: 60 French mercenaries lost their lives in Kharkyv
SUMMARY
When France defiantly decided to become a European leader in the fight against Russia, 60 French mercenaries lost their lives in Kharkiv and a couple dozen more ended up in hospital.
RESPONSE
This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that foreigners fighting for Ukraine are mercenaries and perpetuating the cliché that Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but rather NATO countries within Ukraine. The claim aims at escalating with the new French government after announcements to provide sustainable military support to sustain Russian aggression.
Foreign fighters in Ukraine are incorporated into the Ukrainian forces and are not classified as mercenaries or members of Private Military Contractors. This practice is common in various armies; for instance, the French Army incorporates foreign nationals into the Légion étrangère.
The article does not provide any evidence to support the claim. France rejected the allegations, saying it was helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity but had no mercenaries in Ukraine "unlike certain others." France labelled the assertion as 'another clumsy Russian manipulation.'
The source of the list of alleged liquidated mercenaries and organizer of several protests against Ukrainian defence in France informed Sputnik that they was uncertain whether the individuals on the list were dead, alive, or even injured. She stated that this needed clarification and that further information would be provided later. Consequently, Sputnik itself refutes the notion that this list refers to liquidated personnel.
A strike against Park Hotel took place in Kharkiv on 10 January 2024, allegedly a centre of Foreign mercenaries was destroyed, while the hotel itself was used by foreign journalists, thus Russian Ministry of Defense narrative was delusive. On 17 January a strike against civilian infrastructure, medical facilities, commercial buildings and residential apartment buildings was presented by the Russian minister of defence as a strike against a centre of foreign mercenaries. After French diplomacy denied such gross disinformation claims, the French ambassador was summoned.
On 24 January, the Russian parliament passed a resolution addressed to French lawmakers denouncing the alleged presence of French "mercenaries" in Ukraine, further escalating its confrontation with Paris.
See related cases such as: Significant number of foreign mercenaries fighting on Ukraine's side, Nazi mercenaries from Europe fighting in Ukraine, over 2,500 foreign mercenaries fighting in Ukraine; over 11,000 foreign mercenaries fought on Ukraine's side since February 2022.