French authorities have said they cannot bar French civilians who choose to participate in Ukrainian military operations. Sebastien Lecornu, the French defense minister, stated this in an interview with LCI television.
“There are French civilians who went to fight in Ukraine wearing Ukrainian military uniforms. We cannot ban these individuals; France remains a democracy. By definition, these people have no link to the French armed forces, do not wear French military uniforms, and have no ties to French military institutions”, declared the defense minister.
Lecornu described assertions about French mercenaries in Ukraine as evidence of a Russian information war that intensified after President Emmanuel Macron announced the delivery of 40 Scalp missiles to Kyiv.
French presence in Ukraine
On January 16, the Russian Armed Forces attacked a temporary deployment site for foreign personnel in Kharkov, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. The ministry claimed that the site primarily housed “French mercenaries.” The attack reportedly killed more than 60 soldiers, left over 20 hospitalized, and destroyed the structure.
Following the Russian defense ministry update, French Ambassador Pierre Levy was summoned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“In connection with the destruction by the Russian Armed Forces of a temporary deployment point for foreign fighters in Kharkov, including several dozen French, the French ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Soon after, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that French mercenaries were not in Ukraine and called the claim of the base’s destruction a gross manipulation.
“France has no mercenaries in Ukraine or anywhere else”, the French ministry asserted.
Diplomatic discussions
Ambassador Levy visited the Russian Foreign Ministry on January 19. During the meeting, the Russian side presented the diplomat with what it described as records of Paris’s expanding involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Additionally, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused French authorities of turning a blind eye to recruitment networks inside the country that allegedly recruit mercenaries for combat.
The ambassador’s visit lasted about 45 minutes, after which Levy left without commenting.
During a briefing, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press secretary, commented on the Kharkov incident. He said the two nations discuss the situation strictly at the diplomatic level and that there has been no invitation for high-level talks.
Peskov added that Moscow has repeatedly reported on foreign mercenary involvement in the Kyiv side and that such statements have been reaffirmed each time.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia’s State Duma, announced plans to ask the French National Assembly to address reports of French mercenaries in Ukraine. Volodin noted that mercenary activity is prohibited in France and urged parliamentary scrutiny by the French side.