Moscow/Paris: In a diplomatic escalation, Russia summoned France’s ambassador in Moscow on Friday, formally complaining about France’s alleged “growing involvement” in the Ukraine conflict. The move follows Moscow’s unverified claim of killing French mercenaries in a strike on Kharkiv, Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated, “On 19 January, French Ambassador P Levy was summoned… evidence of Paris’s growing involvement in the conflict over Ukraine.”
Moscow asserted that a significant number of fighters were killed in a late-night attack in Kharkiv, a city under Russian shelling since February 2022. Kyiv reported over a dozen civilians wounded and damage to residential buildings.
Denying the claim, France’s foreign ministry stated that it had no mercenaries in Ukraine, dismissing it as “another clumsy Russian manipulation.” France has been a steadfast ally of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, with President Emmanuel Macron recently announcing the dispatch of dozens of long-range missiles to support Ukraine.
