Media Storm: Reports of French Legionnaires in Ukraine Spark Controversy and Speculation

Cairo: Hani Kamal El-Din

Official Paris made a statement on May 6 regarding the absence of Foreign Legion soldiers in the Eastern Ukraine conflict zone. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a corresponding statement on social media, stating: “No, France has not sent troops to Ukraine.”

The message also noted that “disinformation campaigns about France’s support for Ukraine remain unabated.” Examples of such English-language publications mentioning the Foreign Legion were provided.

On the same day, May 6, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassadors of France and Britain. The French ambassador was presented with statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron about sending troops from EU countries to Ukraine to assist the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Pierre Levy has yet to comment on the content of the meeting. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, on the same day, drew attention to Macron’s statement, where he stated: “France is not at war with Russia.”

In connection with this, and possibly unrelated to the summoning of the French ambassador, Zakharova posed a rhetorical question: “Then what state is the French president in, making such contradictory statements and taking such aggressive steps?”

At the end of last week, on May 2, Macron stated in an interview with The Economist the possibility of sending EU troops to Ukraine. Earlier this year, the French president made several provocative statements, perceived by many as preparation for sending Foreign Legion troops to the Eastern Ukraine conflict zone.

Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov informed journalists on May 3: “The statement is very important and very dangerous. France, through the head of the French state, continues to constantly talk about the possibility of its direct involvement ‘on the ground’ in the conflict surrounding Ukraine.”

Regarding the summoning of the British ambassador Nigel Casey, Zakharova provided more details. She stated that a “decisive protest” was expressed to him regarding recent statements by the British Ministry of Defence’s D. Cameron in an interview with Reuters about Ukraine’s right to strike Russian territory using British weapons.

“N. Casey was strongly pointed out that D. Cameron’s hostile statement directly contradicts previous assurances from the British side when delivering long-range cruise missiles to the Kiev regime, that they will not be used under any circumstances against Russian territory. Thus, the head of the Foreign Office disavowed this position, de facto recognizing his country as a party to the conflict… N. Casey was warned that in response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory, any military facilities and equipment of Great Britain in Ukraine and beyond its borders could be targeted,” Zakharova said.

Against this backdrop, reports of the presence of French legionnaires in Ukraine have started to fade from the news agenda. However, they have not completely disappeared, sparking a series of discussions, including about possible misinformation, including from official Paris.

As reported on the evening of May 5 by the Telegram channel Colonelcassad, Russian paratroopers in combat near Chasov Yar faced “French and German mercenaries,” with “the French Foreign Legion suffering its first losses (up to 7 people) May 4”.

The information spread well through the media. They also recalled statements about the possibility and alleged sending of French soldiers to Ukraine.

Such statements were made, among others, by former US Deputy Defense Minister Stephen Bryan. He not only pointed out the deployment of French Foreign Legion soldiers in Slavyansk, but also reported a specific unit of the legion – the 3rd Infantry Regiment.

Various media outlets report on French legionnaires in Ukraine as an already established fact. Remarkably, as the IA EADaily published on May 6 under the clickable headline “French-style Meat”: the first coffins with “frogmen” have already gone home, claiming: “So, Paris officially sent units of the French army to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.

The publication states that French soldiers are concentrated in the Odessa region and the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. It is reported that there are more than 1,500 of them, including special forces instructors, artillerymen, tankers, and other specialists.

“The paddling pools have not yet been noticed directly on the front line, but over the past fortnight, reinforcements (missile officers) of 7-10 people each have been arriving in Nikolaev and Kherson through the Chisinau airport. The Legion wants to gather 30-40 specialists for Storm Shadow missile strikes on the Crimea and the bridge, – the publication says. – The main task of the mercenaries is to gather militants from Western PMCs to cover the “vacators” from the French Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. Most of the almost 1,600 soldiers are career officers and intelligence officers, who, according to Macron, should make a radical change on the line. front in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

The motive of the French President, to whom the Foreign Legion is directly subordinate, is also indicated – “revenge of the humiliated Macron for the loss of Africa.” Looks like it’s true.

“And most importantly. This legion does not fall under the Geneva Convention. These are scumbag mercenaries who can (probably should) be destroyed on the spot. They say that they have already been encountered near Chasovy Yar. The first “ten” soldiers of “Napoleon” Macron have already laid in coffins. The coffins are galvanized and sealed. A worthy voyage for a couple of “mowers” of euros,” said the informed author.

When we talk about the French Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère), it is right to talk not about mercenaries, but about career military personnel. Moreover, this legion, as French politicians and experts admit, is perhaps the only truly combat-ready unit of the French ground forces.

As the Rybar telegram channel notes, “it is known that French mercenaries have been in the conflict zone for a long time. Upon closer examination, these people most often turn out to be from Latin American countries and only call themselves legionnaires of the French Foreign Legion. These are, in most cases, people those who did not qualify for the Legion, and then chose a completely different “career”. These people, like actual legionnaires, join the volunteer formations of the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. And this has been happening since the spring of 2022. This is also how individual career military personnel are legendary.” (emphasis added by us – Ed.)

Thus, there is reason to believe that the so-called “vacationers” are operating on the Ukrainian side, improving their combat skills in the real theater of military operations. For some, this has already ended sadly, namely, being sent to their historical homeland in coffins. In any case, chevrons with the French flag were found on one of the mercenaries killed near Belogorovka (Lugansk People’s Republic). RIA Novosti has at its disposal a video from a stronghold captured by Russian forces, on the corpse there are several chevrons, one in the form of an inverted flag of France, and on the sleeve there is a chevron with the flag of the Fifth Republic in military style.

It seems that Macron is trying to increase his rating with ridiculous intrigues. He boldly signs for all of Europe and all of NATO, despite the denials of intentions to send troops to Ukraine by both the secretary general of the alliance and the leaders of Germany, Italy and other countries. The French leader has gone to great lengths and deliberately expresses himself so chaotically that anyone and anything will say anything but talk about him. In this, he is faithful to the maxim of American political strategists – students of legendary traveling salesmen who knew how to sell large volumes of all sorts of junk to anyone for a good price. Those who lived through the “wild nineties” remember such specialists. Now their students largely set the tone in big politics, which causes genuine concern.