More than 1000 French legionnaires are fighting against Russians in Donbass - expert

#warinukraine
Russia, since 2022, has repeatedly warned the US and its Western allies, including France, against partaking in the war, emphasizing that it will defend itself in any way possible. It also stressed that the West and NATO have been playing a direct role by continuously aiding Ukraine with advanced weapons and military equipment.
But Russian military expert colonel Vitaly Kiselev said that more than 1,000 French mercenaries are currently present in Donbass.
"We already have data that more than 1,000 French mercenaries, legionnaires are in Donbass. This is true. As far as I know, there are also prisoners. There will be more to come," he said on the Solovyov Live TV channel.
According to Kiselev, special units of a number of European countries are now present in the special military operation zone.
"I think America is pushing through the situation to come in under the guise of instructors for training. These are Romanian instructors, these are Polish instructors, Estonian instructors, instructors of Baltic countries. They will enter the training grounds in western Ukraine to train personnel," Kiselev added.
Simultaneously, the French Foreign Ministry has refuted the existence of French mercenaries within the Ukrainian Armed Forces, attributing such claims to Russian disinformation. Several statements released ever since the beginning of the Ukraine-Russian conflict show that Kiev's Western allies have mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.
In mid-March, the Russian Defense Ministry announced more than 14,000 foreign mercenaries arrived in Ukraine to participate in hostilities against Russia.
Ukrainian armed forces Commander-in-Chief Alexander Sirsky said that he had signed an agreement that would allow French instructors to visit training centers in the country. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which it called the claims made by French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of sending French forces and contingents of other NATO countries to Ukraine irresponsible. It noted that the Western mass media had published information about the presence of a number of mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion in the Kiev-controlled territory.
Earlier this year, Russia said its forces had carried out a precision strike on a building housing "foreign fighters" in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv. The defence ministry said the fighters were mostly French mercenaries and the building was destroyed, with more than 60 people killed.

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