France has “deployed the Foreign Legion” on the Ukrainian front. This is what many French-speaking accounts on X (formerly Twitter) assure. Among them, the far-right activist David van Hemelryck, or the pro-Russians https://twitter.com/BPartisans/status/1787399595598786679.
According to these accounts, the information came from a “very serious Source”. In this case, from the Asia Times site, via an article signed by a certain Stephen Bryen published on May 4.
We can read there that the French soldiers, deployed “near Salvyanks”, would come “from the 3rd infantry regiment”which would be “one of the main elements of the Foreign Legion”. For the moment, this deployment, according to this article, would involve around 100 soldiers, artillery specialists, but 1,500 should eventually arrive in Ukraine.
Stephen Bryen presents himself as an expert in the field of security and technology, highlighting his experience as deputy assistant secretary of the United States Department of Defense (under the Reagan administration in the late 1980s ). He is part of several American think tanks, all very conservative, and contributes to various media such as Washington Times (pro-Trump daily founded by the Moon sect) or Epoch Times (Chinese-American newspaper which massively relays false information).
The article on the supposed French presence in Ukraine was in fact published on his personal newsletter on the Substack platform and reproduced verbatim (“with his permission”) on online media Asia Times, whose editorial line seems to vary in recent years. Contrary to what is claimed on numerous occasions (including by Azeri or Italian media), this is not an article written by an Asian newspaper, but by a single American blogger.
An article based on a tweet published by Sputnik
Contacted by CheckNewsStephen Bryen explains that he gets his information “Telegram channels” and the social network X (formerly Twitter). And doesn’t seem particularly concerned about the issue of verifying the info: “The question is whether the reports on Telegram, Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere are credible. In general, you have to be careful, but this information seemed solid enough to me to accept it. I understand that some will not accept the veracity of a story unless it comes from a major news Source. Unfortunately, when it comes to Ukraine, most of the detailed information comes from bloggers because there is little, if any, Western press on the battlefield, and it is tightly controlled.”
Stephen Bryen indicates above all that he based himself on a tweet published by… Sputnik, the media mouthpiece of the Kremlin (and well known for spreading false information).
In this message, dated April 13 (and which is no longer accessible), Sputnik reported the same information as the American author. The height of the absurd: in an article published today, Sputnik now indicates that the information concerning French troops in Ukraine comes from… Stephen Bryen.
At the end of April, the same American author already argued that NATO has “started deploying combat troops to Ukraine”. He mentioned “Polish, French, British or Finnish soldiers” who arrived “in large numbers”, and wearing “uniforms with the flag of their country” on the front. Here again, without providing proof of his allegations. And believing that a Russian victory would make it possible to avoid a “wider war in Europe”.
Stephen Bryen, who compiles in his text the approximations on the Foreign Legion (described as reserved for foreigners while it includes French soldiers for example), seems above all to be unaware that the 3rd infantry regiment of the legion is in fact engaged “permanently” in French Guiana. Several thousand kilometers from eastern Ukraine. And that it has little to do with artillery since its strong points are “fighting in the equatorial forest” and surveillance missions.
“We should legitimately ask ourselves the question”
Contacted, the army general staff, for its part, assures CheckNews “there are no French soldiers on Ukrainian soil”. And details the French positions “on the eastern flank of Europe” : “French soldiers are engaged in Estonia (Lynx mission) and Romania (Aigle mission). The French armies also contribute to air defense missions, operations in the air called AirShielding, on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance, in the Baltic countries, in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.
Note that Emmanuel Macron, for his part, estimated this Tuesday, May 2, that we “should legitimately ask the question” to deploy soldiers on Ukrainian soil if the military situation continues to worsen on the Ukrainian side.
