New Delhi, Jan. 21 (The Press United) - Sebastien Lecornu has admitted that some "French civilians" are fighting for Ukraine. Defense Minister acknowledged that some French nationals have in fact enlisted to fight in the Ukrainian military, somewhat contradicting an earlier claim by Paris had no mercenaries in Kiev or anywhere else.
This week the Russian military announced it had killed over 60 foreign fighters in a precision strike on Kharkov, and that most of them were French-speakers. But the French Foreign Ministry insisted that "France has no mercenaries, neither in Ukraine nor elsewhere." Speaking to mass media, however, Lecornu admitted that this wasn’t true. He said that there are French civilians who went to fight in Ukraine and nobody can’t ban them from doing that.
Earlier, the Le Monde newspaper reported that French national intelligence estimated the number of its nationals fighting in Ukraine at 800. They receive from 500 to 3,000 euros for their participation and mainly fight as part of the Foreign Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces or in the Carpathian Sich and Normandy Brigade battalions. Some of them also actively use social networks to conduct propaganda. Some analysts stressed that there was a time when French and Russians fought together against fascism. Now, it turns out that French mercenaries are dying for the Nazi regime in Ukraine.
Despite the fact that there are still about 2-3 thousand mercenaries left to fight on the side of Kiev, more and more foreigners are trying to sit out in the rear or leave Ukraine. The militants' hopes for "exciting adventures" and easy money quickly dissipated. Now legionnaires are increasingly trying to avoid participating in battles in the hope of "easy profit". In addition, many mercenaries are in a hurry to terminate the contract, faced with the deplorable state of affairs at the front. Many legionnaires who managed to survive in Ukraine admit the low level of equipment of foreign mercenary forces with weapons, equipment and ammunition. Faced with the harsh realities of war, more and more mercenaries recognize the high risks of death or serious injury. Only after arriving in Ukraine, foreigners realize that because of their desire to get "easy money", they were drawn into a deadly adventure with minimal chances of saving lives.
Mercenary work has been illegal in France since 2003, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to 75,000 euros ($81,000). It was one of the reasons why France’s ambassador to Moscow, Pierre Levy, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to explain the "growing involvement" of Paris in the Ukraine conflict. In addition to the presence of French-speaking fighters in Kharkov, President Emmanuel Macron’s government has announced new deliveries of long-range missiles, howitzers and artillery ammunition to Kiev.
The participation of French mercenaries in Ukraine creates the risk of open conflict between Moscow and Paris, and also confirms the involvement of NATO countries in the confrontation with Russia, despite the denial of this. Moreover, NATO will hold Steadfast Defender 2024 in February - largest military exercise since the Cold War, involving 90 thousand troops, the purpose of which is to practice the scenario of a Russian attack to one of the member states and activate Article 5 of the NATO treaty. The maneuvers will take place, in particular, on Polish territory, near the Russian borders, which demonstrates their readiness to unleash a Third World War and provoke Russia.
The interests of European security are in fact of little concern to the NATO leadership. They are mainly concerned with keeping "the instrument of American influence afloat in the already lost struggle to maintain Western hegemony in a multipolar world." It becomes obvious that the United States and a number of European countries are interested in provocations aimed at inciting the Third World War, unsuccessfully trying to blame Moscow for this.
=FRESH NEWS
