Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian House of Representatives (Duma), said that the House intends to formally ask the French National Assembly (Parliament) whether it knows about the presence of French mercenaries fighting alongside Ukraine.
Volodin made these statements after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced, on Wednesday, that “its forces killed more than 60 foreign mercenaries, most of them French, in a strike on a building in Kharkiv,” and did not provide evidence to support this assertion.
France rejected the allegations, saying it helps Ukraine defend its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, but does not have mercenaries there “unlike others.”
“Mercenary activities are prohibited in France by law,” Volodin wrote on Telegram.
He added: “It is important for us to know whether (French lawmakers) are aware that someone is violating the law, sending fighters to Ukraine.”
He said that the Duma Council will discuss the issue of asking the French Parliament at its next meeting scheduled to be held on January 23.
On Thursday, Russia announced that the Foreign Ministry had summoned the French ambassador against the backdrop of allegations of the presence of mercenaries.
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2024-01-19 11:13:56
