France has again denied that it has sent soldiers to Ukraine, AFP reported, quoted by BTA.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued this comment today in response to a new "disinformation campaign".
"No, France has not sent troops to #Ukraine", the post on the social network "Ex" emphasized. The ministry reported that "disinformation campaigns about France's support for Ukraine are not weakening".
Qué d'Orsay shared two posts falsely claiming that a unit of the French Foreign Legion commanded by a Frenchman was fighting on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces.
On Saturday, the newspaper "Aija Times" wrote that soldiers from the Third Infantry Regiment of the French Foreign Legion were stationed in Slavyansk. According to the Hong Kong-based English-language edition, there are already 100 people on the ground, artillery and intelligence specialists, and a total of 1,500 soldiers are expected to be sent, AFP said.
The publication, which did not cite any sources, was shared many times on various social networks, especially in French and English. It was also quoted by established media such as the Indian website "Hindustan Times".
Early this month, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his February idea of possibly deploying Western troops to Ukraine if Russia achieves a breakthrough on the front and Kiev requests that troops be sent.
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in response to the words of Macron and the British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who in turn said that Ukraine could use British weapons to strike on Russian territory, ordered the exercises to be held for the use of tactical nuclear warheads, the Kremlin said.
In early February, French authorities announced that they had uncovered a "structured and coordinated" a network for the distribution of Russian propaganda in the USA and Europe, AFP recalls.
The following month, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces exposed a fake website allegedly recruiting 200,000 Frenchmen to fight on the side of Ukraine on its behalf.