The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced this Monday, May 6, 2024, on the social network X, formerly Twitter, a disinformation campaign claiming that French soldiers had been deployed in Ukraine.
In a publication, the Quai d’Orsay indicates that ” L“disinformation campaigns on France’s support for Ukraine are not weakening, the proof”, joining two publications claiming that a Foreign Legion unit commanded by a Frenchman was sent to fight alongside kyiv.
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Information repeated numerous times
“No, France did not send troops to Ukraine”, insists French diplomacy.
On May 4, the site Asia Times claimed that Paris had deployed men “in support of the 54th independent Ukrainian mechanized brigade in Slavyansk”coming from “3rd Infantry Regiment” of the Legion.
He added that one hundred men, specialists in “artillery and surveillance”, had already left out of a planned total of 1,500. The article, cited by Russian state media sources, was repeated numerous times on different social networks, such as X, Facebook and Telegram, in different languages, including English and in French.
It was also used by established media such as the Indian site Hindustan Times.
The thesis of French soldiers already present in Ukraine “used regularly”
In February, French President Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine, sparking a wave of publications on social networks mixing exaggerations, approximations and fake news.
Thursday, in an interview with the weekly The Economist, Emmanuel Macron has once again assumed this position. “If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there was a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today, we should legitimately ask ourselves the question. »
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered nuclear exercises to be held soon in response to comments from Western leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, according to the Kremlin.
The thesis of French soldiers already on the Ukrainian front “has been installed for several weeks and is used regularly, either directly by Russian accounts or by proxies”, noted a senior French official familiar with the matter.
“Informational attacks are increasing and are almost daily,” he assured AFP, believing that they were aimed at both “Russian, Asian, and French-speaking opinions – in France or Africa”.
