Paris and Moscow entered the war

Paris and Moscow entered the war

Paris has "identified a coordinated maneuver by Russia" to spread false information about France and the alleged presence of French "mercenaries" fighting on the side of Kyiv in Ukraine, the French Ministry of Defense announced today.

"Competent state services have identified and are monitoring a coordinated maneuver by Russia to transmit this false information, including pro-Russian news networks and state media such as Sputnik News, RT and RIA Novosti," the ministry said in a statement.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, France has been "the target of Russia's disinformation campaign," which intensified in mid-January after French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his support for Ukraine, the statement added.

"We cannot allow Russia to win," said the French President at the time and announced new arms deliveries to Kyiv. The next day, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian forces in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, targeted a building that served as a "temporary deployment zone for mercenaries, most of whom were French citizens." Moscow then announced that 60 fighters were "eliminated" and 20 were injured.

"France has no 'mercenaries', neither in Ukraine nor elsewhere," announced the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and condemned "Russian manipulation."