French Foreign Ministry refutes Russia's claims about "French mercenaries killed in Ukraine"

On 18 January, France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted a claim made by the Russian Defence Ministry that French mercenaries were killed in an attack on Kharkiv on 16 January, calling it a "manipulation".

Source: European Pravda with reference to AFP

Details: Russia’s Defence Ministry reported yesterday that as a result of a "high-precision" attack on the city of Kharkiv on 16 January, "a temporary deployment point of foreign fighters led by French mercenaries was struck".

The French Foreign Ministry responded that France "has no ‘mercenaries’ either in Ukraine or anywhere else, unlike certain others".

"This is just the latest crude Russian manipulation. We should not give it any more attention than the previous ones or those that will surely follow it," the French ministry added.  

Background: Russia’s "high-precision" strike on Kharkiv on 16 January damaged civilian housing infrastructure and left 17 civilians injured.

Last month, a reminder by the French Foreign Ministry that Russia is an aggressor state in the context of explosions in the Russian city of Belgorod triggered a temper tantrum in Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian President and current Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

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