A Frenchman was killed “in fights” in Ukraine, announced Friday, June 3 the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 100 days after the start of the Russian invasion. “We learned the sad news that a Frenchman had been mortally wounded in fighting in Ukraine”said the Quai d’Orsay. “We send our condolences to his family”.
The identity of this man has not been communicated, nor the place where he perished. According to a source, the man was “a combatant who left as a volunteer”.
Europe 1 had for its part reported on Thursday a “first French fighter” killed in Ukraine, “mortally wounded by artillery fire” in the Kharkiv region (north-east). “The young man had joined the Ukrainian International Defense Legion and participated in the fighting against the Russian army”according to the radio.
An “international legion” of foreign volunteers
This is not the first time that a foreigner who went to fight in Ukraine has died. Britain announced at the end of April the death of one of its nationals and the disappearance of another. According to British media, the slain was a British Army veteran. The two nationals were fighting against Russian forces as volunteers, according to these sources.
The war in Ukraine entered its 100th day on Friday. Shortly after Russia invaded his country on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the formation of a “international legion” foreign volunteers to help defend Ukraine.