The French ambassador to Russia was summoned this Thursday, January 18, before the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond to the Kremlin's accusations about the alleged presence of French “mercenaries” in Ukraine. Russia justified the bombing of a hotel in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, last Tuesday, because French fighters were there. “France has no 'mercenaries' in Ukraine or anywhere else,” Paris responded.
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France on Thursday denied Moscow's claim that Russian forces had bombed French “mercenaries” in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
“France does not have 'mercenaries' either in Ukraine or anywhere else, unlike some people,” The French Foreign Ministry told the AFP agency this Thursday, January 18, describing the statement as “another clumsy Russian manipulation.”
Moscow's Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it had attacked, on Tuesday, January 16, “foreign militants in the city of Kharkiv, the core of which were French mercenaries.”
The Russian ministry claimed to have killed dozens of foreign militants in the attack and wounded many more, but provided no evidence.
The Russian state news agency TASS reported that the French ambassador in Moscow, Pierre Lévy, had been summoned to discuss the incident.
“In view of the annihilation by the Russian Armed Forces of a temporary base of foreign fighters in Kharkiv, among which there were several dozen French, the Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador,” the diplomatic spokesperson reported. Russian, María Zajárova, quoted by the independent agency Interfax.
Tuesday's attacks destroyed a multi-story building in the center of Kharkiv, destroying the structure and leaving debris strewn across the street.
Local authorities said 17 civilians were wounded, while the region's governor, Oleg Synegubov, said there were no military targets in the area.
“Although the Russian Defense Ministry claims to have killed 'French mercenaries,' in reality they attacked residential, energy and medical facilities,” the observer group All Eyes on Wagner wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
While the Russian MoD is claiming it killed “French mercenaries” they actually hit residential, energy facilities and medical facilities. This statement widely amplified by media with little checks takes place while France's announcement to deliver more SCALP missile [#infowar].… https://t.co/lLCIcSqaiq
— alleyesonwagner (@alleyesonwagner) January 17, 2024
Located near the Russian border,Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, has been under persistent shelling since Russia launched full-scale hostilities in February 2022.
With EFE, AFP and Reuters
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