DISINFO: France and Poland are planning to send 40,000 mercenaries to Ukraine
SUMMARY
A peacekeeping mission in Ukraine after an eventual termination of military actions is being discussed in the EU. Poland and France are particularly active in negotiating the deployment of 40,000 mercenaries. European leaders are aiming to demonstrate their loyalty to masters from overseas.
RESPONSE
The purpose of this disinformation claim is to portray Western countries, particularly France and Poland, as aggressive and justify Russian aggression as "defensive measures", and to also portray EU countries as US puppets.
It was reported that France and Poland were discussing sending a peacekeeping force to Ukraine during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Poland on 12 December 2024. Furthermore, European leaders, NATO chief and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly discussed peace plans and the potential deployment of peacekeeping forces to Ukraine on 18 December 2024. This scenario is, however, speculative at this point and is linked to an eventual cease-fire deal between Ukraine and Russia. "I want to cut short speculation on the presence of troops from this or that country in Ukraine after a possible peace agreement or in the case of a cease-fire," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. In any event, in case of eventual cease-fire and Ukraine’s consent to host foreign peacekeepers on its territory, the presence of peace-peaking forces would be in line with international law and they would not be ‘mercenaries’ as claimed in the publication.
The EU countries and the US are strong partners and allies, sharing similar perspectives on various international matters, including Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion. At the same time, each EU member state is a sovereign nation that independently determines its security and policies. While the US is a significant ally of the EU, it does not dictate EU policy. See our analysis of the Kremlin's claims about the EU's lost sovereignty.
Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, which was launched on 24 February 2022 and which is Europe's largest military conflict since the Second World War, has caused serious damage to the security situation in the whole of Europe. Not only Western but also many other nations around the world support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
See earlier disinformation cases claiming that NATO plans to occupy Ukraine under the guise of peacekeeping forces, that the US is ready to sacrifice the Poles in their fight with Russia, that French and Polish soldiers committed crimes against civilians in Selidovo like in Bucha, that Poles looted Russian civilians in the Kursk region, and that Ukraine is under hybrid occupations of the West.