OfStefano Montefiori
Thousands of foreign soldiers have already been engaged, Russia: “Almost 6 thousand mercenaries killed.” From Macron support for French companies investing in the reconstruction of Ukraine
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
PARIS – After a long, more cautious phase, in which President Emmanuel Macron certainly affirmed clear support for Ukraine but also recommended “not to humiliate Russia”, France steps up in aid to Kiev and opposition to the Kremlin, and not just in words.
Volodymir Zelensky’s visit to Normandy and Paris was the occasion for signing new bilateral agreementsfor example on a support fund of 200 million euros intended to French companies that want to export or invest in the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, especially energy ones, destroyed by the Russians. And the Franco-German armaments group Knds signed an agreement on Friday at the Elysée, in the presence of Zelensky, for the creation of its branch in Ukraine. KNDS will build weapons and ammunition directly on Ukrainian soil for the Kiev army.
Macron announced that the agreement will be finalized in the next few days “coalition” of many countriesincluding France at the forefront, to send military instructors to Ukraine with the task of train new recruits of the Ukrainian army which is expanding its mobilization. Macron has hinted that instructors from France and other countries will be stationed in the west of the countryaway from the fighting.
But if the French government is preparing to officially send military instructors to Ukraine far from the front line, since the beginning of the war they have hundreds of French volunteers than in a private and personal capacity they went to Ukraine to fight alongside the Ukrainians against the Russian invader. They are not the only ones, because they have been present in Ukraine for over two years now many fighters from dozens of countriessometimes for ideal reasons, in other cases as mercenaries attracted by a salary that can reach up to 3400 euros per month.
Most international soldiers, from the French to the Americans to the Canadians to the Italians, fight on the side of Ukraine; others, like many Africans or Nepalese and even some Italians are with Russiaand then there are dozens of Syrians fighting each other on Ukrainian soil, some with the Ukrainians and some with the Russians.
The Ukrainian government no longer provides the figures of foreign contingentwhich a few weeks after the Russian invasion reached around 20 thousand soldiers, mostly veterans of their national armies, part of the “International Legion for the defense of Ukraine” which at the web address ildu.com.ua still recruits volunteers ready to “defend the freedom of Ukraine, Europe and the entire world”.
Last March 14 the Russian news agency Tax took up the figures released by the Ministry of Defense on its Telegram channel. These are unverifiable numbers, and obviously used by the Kremlin for propaganda purposes. Foreign soldiers fighting for Ukraine against Russia are all defined as mercenaries: from the beginning of the war to March 2024, according to Tass, a total of 5962 “foreign mercenaries” were killedof which 1497 Poles (out of 2960 fighters), 561 Georgians (out of 1042), 491 Americans (out of 1113), 422 Canadians (out of 1005), 360 British (out of 822), 349 Romanians (out of 784), 152 Croatians (out of 335), 147 French (out of 356), 33 Italians (out of 90), and the remainder of other nationalities, from Australians to Brazilians, from Koreans to Nigerians.
Last February the French publisher Denoël published the book Task Force Baguette written by Adam K. and Donny D., a former paratrooper and a former French mountain infantry soldier, who a few weeks after the Russian invasion on April 24, 2022 went to Ukraine and with other former American soldiers founded the “Task Force Baguette”, precisely, an elite unit placed under the command of the Ukrainian serviceswith which they participated in the battles of Kharkiv and Bakhmout fighting against Russian mercenaries of the Wagner group and also against regular soldiers of the Russian army.
The instructors soon sent from France and other countries (which have not yet expressed their opinion) they will not be involved in the fightingbut will be in Ukraine in an official and non-personal capacity, and on the open mandate of their respective governments.
June 8, 2024
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