No, France did not deploy troops to fight with Ukraine against Russia
Ukrainian anti-drone unit servicemen search for Russian drones, in Avdiivka direction, Ukraine, Monday, May 6, 2024. Social media users are falsely claiming that France sent troops to fight with Ukraine against Russia. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
CLAIM: France sent troops to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X that France has not deployed troops to Ukraine, calling the claim “disinformation.” Reports of the deployment cited a May 3 blog post by Stephen Bryen, a deputy undersecretary for the Department of Defense during the Reagan administration.
THE FACTS: Social media users are pointing to the blog post as proof that French troops have been sent to fight Russia alongside Ukraine as the war continues in its third year.
“France has sent its first troops officially to Ukraine,” the blog post reads. “They have been deployed in support of the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in Slavyansk. The French soldiers are drawn from France’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, which is one of the main elements of France’s Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère).”
It adds that 100 French troops out of an expected 1,500 have arrived so far.
Many social media posts included a screenshot of the blog post as it appeared republished on another website. One such X post had received more than 3,000 likes and shares as of Monday.
But the French Foreign Ministry explicitly denied a deployment of French troops to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“FAKE NEWS ALERT,” it wrote on X. “Disinformation campaigns on France’s support to Ukraine are as active as ever. Let’s have a look. France has not sent troops to #Ukraine.”
Macron said in an interview published Thursday that he hasn’t excluded the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, echoing comments he has made in recent months. He did not announce any deployments of the French military.
The claim spreading online cited a post published Friday on Bryen’s blog titled, “France Sends Troops to Ukraine.” The post does not attribute its reporting to any sources.
Bryen published another blog post on Monday, where he acknowledged that he “could be wrong” about France’s alleged deployment to Ukraine. He also provided sources for his post from Friday and explained his reporting ethos.
The earliest source Bryen cites about France sending troops is an April 12 article from a Russian military news website, which notes that it “can neither confirm nor deny this information.” It relies on reports from a Russian Telegram channel and a Russian journalist, who reportedly said the information is unconfirmed.
An April 13 X post from Sputnik, a state-owned Russian news agency, refers to the Russian Telegram channel and quotes a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman previously warning that “France would prepare 1,500 troops in April to be sent to Ukraine.” The same text is used in a Facebook post published the same day by a page that describes itself as “a gaming platform used for comedy and opinions out of spontaneous dialogue.” Bryen cites both.
Lastly, Bryen lists an April 14 post from a website that regularly promotes conspiracy theories.
In response to a request for comment from The Associated Press, Bryen pointed to the second blog post and wrote “as for denials, the French always deny having anyone at all in Ukraine.”
France’s 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment, of the Foreign Legion, has been based in Kourou, French Guiana, since 1973. Its responsibilities include protecting the Guiana Space Center and fighting against illegal gold panning.
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This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
