French Defence Ministry addresses Russian disinformation on alleged death of "French mercenaries" in Kharkiv

The French Ministry of Defence has responded to the publication of Russian disinformation claiming the supposed death of "French mercenaries" due to a strike on Kharkiv, stating that this was a coordinated misinformation campaign.

Source: BFMTV, citing the Ministry's press release, as reported by European Pravda

The French authority has stated that Russia has long been engaging in disinformation activities against France, and after Paris's recent assurances that support for Ukraine will continue, this wave of disinformation has intensified.

Quote: "The relevant state services have, on the other hand, identified and are monitoring Russia’s coordinated manoeuvre, including pro-Russian news networks and state media such as Sputnik, RT and RIA Novosti, to relay and amplify this false information," the ministry stated.

The reaction from Paris was triggered, in part, by Moscow's statement on 17 January claiming that a missile strike on Kharkiv targeted a supposed temporary location of "French mercenaries," with 60 allegedly killed and 20 wounded. Following this, Russian Telegram channels began circulating supposed lists of the deceased.

Subsequently, a claim appeared that Russia had supposedly destroyed a Franco-Italian SAMP-T system supplied to Ukraine. The French Defence Ministry noted that some of these "lists of deceased mercenaries" had already been circulated in the early weeks of the full-scale war.

"France confirms none of these reports... France is once again the target of a crude Russian disinformation campaign. Unlike others, France does not use mercenaries," said French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

"With French military aid to Ukraine being stepped up, we expect this Russian poisoning operation to continue. We condemn it and are strengthening our monitoring of such manipulations," he added.

In a comment to AFP, one informed diplomat stated that while many foreign volunteers have indeed joined the Ukrainian International Legion, and some French individuals in the list circulated by Russians are likely members of the legion, many other names are clearly false.

An additional element of the information attack on France in these Moscow statements is that French legislation provides for criminal liability for mercenary activities – 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of €75,000.

Background:

• 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".
• Meanwhile, experts at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs have identified a systematic disinformation campaign favouring Russia on the social media platform Twitter (X). The government is concerned about potential interference in upcoming elections.

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