Propaganda telegram channels write that Russian troops attacked the location of Ukrainian artillerymen and, probably, the French were there, bringing CAESAR installations for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

However, this information is fake. Such statements by Russian propagandists are an attempt to justify the terrorist attack on Sloviansk on April 15, 2024. Then the Russians fired at the city with a Grom-E1 rocket-bomb, damaging two apartment buildings, an educational institution and a bank building.

In a similar way, Kremlin propaganda justified the January 16, 2024 strike on Kharkiv. Then, investigators of the All Eyes on Wagner project noted that the news story was spreading against the backdrop of news about the provision of French missiles to the Ukrainians. “France does not have mercenaries either in Ukraine or anywhere”, was the response of the French Foreign Ministry to reproaches from Russia, writes Reuters. We also denied this information.

The Russian propaganda rhetoric about “foreign mercenaries” in Ukraine is intended to demonize the West in the eyes of the Russian population, as well as to portray Russia as a victim of this war, in particular.