Russia killed over 60 mercenaries, most of them French nationals, and injured over 20 others in a precision strike on a building in Kharkov, northeastern Ukraine on Tuesday. The large concentration of armed Frenchmen in Ukraine’s second city corroborates Sputnik's reporting on France's underpublicized involvement in NATO's proxy war against Russia.
The Russian military targeted a temporary deployment point used by foreign mercenaries in Kharkov on Tuesday evening, completely razing the building hosting them. A foreign merc active on the ground in the city posted photos of the building’s ruins, corroborating the MoD’s information.
Tuesday’s strike demonstrates the escalating extent of French involvement in the Ukraine conflict, with France being one of a handful of countries allowing its nationals to freely serve in Ukraine’s "International Legion" volunteer mercenary forces, despite having previously banned citizens from fighting for foreign militant groups.
Sputnik has kept tabs on French involvement in the Ukraine crisis since before its escalation from a civil conflict in Donbass into a full-blown NATO-Russia proxy war. Last October, for example, Sputnik revealed exclusive details on a French intelligence agent’s suspected contacts in Kiev with foreign mercenaries during the first half of 2020.
French Directorate of Military Intelligence and Directorate-General for External Security officer Arnaud Helly received the National Order of Merit for his services in late 2020, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in December 2021. This was shortly before Russia kicked off its military operation to get ahead of suspected plans by Kiev to launch new aggression in Donbass and efforts by Washington to drag Ukraine into NATO.
Former French President Francois Hollande hinted at Paris’ undervalued role in training and equipping Ukraine’s Armed Forces in the lead up to the crisis in an interview with Ukrainian media in late 2022, saying the Ukrainian Army of 2014 was unrecognizable compared to that of 2022 thanks to the Minsk peace deal, which France signed.
Russian officials expected Minsk to resolve the Ukraine crisis, but Hollande’s revelations confirmed statements by Ukraine’s former president and ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Kiev never intended to implement the peace agreement.
France was one of the first countries to begin arming Ukraine in preparation for the proxy war, delivering over €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion US) in military aid between 2014 and 2020 alone, including drones, helicopters, targeting and fire-control systems, ammunition, and other support. Since the crisis’ escalation, Paris has further ramped up deliveries, with commitments topping €3.2 billion ($3.5 billion) to arm and train Ukraine’s forces, and deliveries including heavy artillery and mortars, armored vehicles, small arms, mines, and SCALP cruise missiles, which Ukraine’s military has used liberally to bombard Donbass cities.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that Paris would provide Kiev with an additional 40 SCALP missiles and “several hundred” bombs, and hinted at a French industry “war economy” framework to ramp up weapons and ammunition deliveries. Macron also plans to sign a bilateral “security pact” with President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kiev next month.
But French lawmakers complained in a draft report this week that Ukraine’s ammunition was being depleted at rates faster than Paris or other NATO powers could possibly hope to resupply it.
Washington has pressured Paris, London, and Berlin to take a more active role in funding the conflict in Ukraine over the past two months amid the stalling of a $61 billion US aid package in Congress. Britain pledged €3 billion ($3.25 billion) in aid over the next two years, while Germany has promised some €8 billion ($8.7 billion) in assistance through 2024. The assistance falls far short of the $200 billion the US and its allies poured into the Ukraine crisis between 2022 and 2023, potentially signaling the alliance’s exhaustion after bringing Ukraine to the brink of ruin in its failed quest to militarily "weaken Russia."
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