DISINFO: French troops directly involved in Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region
SUMMARY
The Kursk Operation has made sense for the West, of course, and it is not only a Ukrainian operation. It is ridiculous to deny it because Ukraine is fighting with Western arms and ammunition. Many of those who are fighting there are foreign citizens and, to be more precise, foreign troops such as the First Parachute Regiment, the Second Regiment of the Foreign Legion, and the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claiming that France is directly involved in the war between Ukraine and Russia. This claim was made in the context of Ukraine’s advance into Russia’s Kursk region which began on 6 August 2024.
This is an unsubstantiated claim. There is no evidence that foreign military units are fighting on the Ukrainian side, either on Ukrainian territory or in Russia’s Kursk Region. The claim that French military units are fighting on the Ukrainian side has been denied by the French Foreign Ministry in a statement on X.
There are some foreign citizens fighting in Ukraine’s International Legion, some of whom may be French, but they are private citizens who volunteered to fight and not troops sent by France.
Ukraine’s military and political command did not inform its foreign partners about its preparations for an advance into Russian territory. US Department of State Spokesman Matthew Miller said the US had not received any advance notification from Ukraine of any operation in the Kursk Region.
A broad coalition of more than 50 nations, including France, are providing Ukraine with financial and military support in order to help it repel Russia’s aggression.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that French and Ukrainian mercenaries commit atrocities in the Kursk region, that NATO directly invaded Russia in the Kursk region, and that Ukrainians behave like Nazis in Kursk Region.