Bombing of French Mercs in Kharkov Blows Lid Off New Front in Paris’ Secret War on 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 like ISIS/ISIL.

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.