France Responds to Russia's NATO Troops in Ukraine Claim

The French military has dismissed "false information" from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) suggesting that Paris is preparing a 2,000-strong military contingent for deployment inside Ukraine.

Last week, the SVR again suggested that France will soon deploy a force to Ukraine as part of NATO's efforts to bolster Kyiv against Russia's ongoing attritional invasion. The SVR published a purported report by one of its agents detailing French preparations, which echoed claims made by SVR chief Sergei Naryshkin in March.

In response, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry in Paris told Newsweek: "We confirm that there are no French army soldiers on Ukrainian soil."

"This false information illustrates, once again, the disinformation maneuver widely used by Russia in recent months."

"On the eastern flank of Europe, the French military are engaged in Estonia (Lynx mission) and Romania (Aigle mission)," the spokesperson added. "The French armed forces also contribute to air defense missions, an airborne operation called AirShielding, on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance, in the Baltic countries, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia."

France has been at the forefront of a nascent—and still hesitant—push for NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine, though only in non-combat training, advisory, and security roles.

French President Emmanuel Macron and fellow proponents of the plan have argued that NATO troops inside Ukraine could make it easier and faster to train and equip Kyiv's forces, as well as deterring cross-border aggression from Russian allies in Belarus and the breakaway Moldovan province of Transnistria.

Macron has found some allied backers of the proposal, particularly in the Baltic states and Poland. One member of the president's party told Newsweek in June that momentum is "clearly" building for such a deployment.

Russia has repeatedly accused NATO of deploying forces inside Ukraine in combat roles. British and French personnel are reportedly already active inside the country, helping their Ukrainian partners use Western-provided weapons systems. American forces have also reportedly been present in Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to confirm the presence of NATO troops in February, prompting a furious backlash from allies.

Moscow has repeatedly threatened to target any NATO troops sent to Ukraine, as it has made a priority of destroying Western-made weapons given to Kyiv over the past two years of full-scale war.

In March, spy chief Naryshkin said that any French contingent deployed "will become a legitimate priority target for attacks from the Russian Armed Forces. This means that the fate of all Frenchmen who have ever come to the territory of the Russian world with a sword would await it."

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