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France Rejects Russia’s ‘Mercenary’ Claims, Doubles Down on Support for Ukraine
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France Rejects Russia’s ‘Mercenary’ Claims, Doubles Down on Support for Ukraine
Paris has rejected claims by Moscow that dozens of French “mercenaries” were killed in a recent Russian strike on a facility in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
“France helps Ukraine with supplies of military material and military training in full compliance with international law,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a Jan. 18 statement.
However, it noted that France, a NATO member, “has no mercenaries, neither in Ukraine nor elsewhere.”
A day earlier, Russia’s military claimed to have carried out a “precision strike” on a facility in Kharkiv, which, it claimed, had been used to house “foreign fighters.”
More than 60 fighters were killed in the strike, which destroyed the facility, the Russian Defense Ministry stated during a briefing. The ministry went on to assert that most of those killed were “French mercenaries.”
It didn’t provide evidence for its assertions, which couldn’t be independently verified by The Epoch Times.
UA day earlier, Russia’s military claimed to have carried out a “precision strike” on a facility in Kharkiv, which, it claimed, had been used to house “foreign fighters.”
More than 60 fighters were killed in the strike, which destroyed the facility, the Russian Defense Ministry stated during a briefing. The ministry went on to assert that most of those killed were “French mercenaries.”
It didn’t provide evidence for its assertions, which couldn’t be independently verified by The Epoch Times.
The French Foreign Ministry described Moscow’s claims to the contrary as “another clumsy manipulation” by Russia.
In late 2022, Russian forces largely withdrew from Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region. However, in recent months, they’ve sought to retake eastern parts of the region, which Ukrainian forces have used to stage cross-border attacks on Russia’s western region of Belgorod.
On Jan. 18, Russia’s Foreign Ministry requested a meeting with France’s ambassador in Moscow to answer the allegations.
“The ministry summoned the ambassador after a Russian strike on a temporary base for foreign mercenaries in Kharkiv,” a ministry spokeswoman told reporters.
She also repeated claims that “several dozen French nationals” had been stationed at the facility at the time of the strike.
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