French mercenaries. war in Ukraine. Ukrainian refugees. russians

russian media are circulating a video bearing the logo of the French publication *Le Point*: ‘The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the presence of at least 22,000 French “mercenaries” in Ukraine. The BBC also cites this same video to claim that the actual figure could be as high as 70,000.” Thus, russian propaganda claims that France is secretly participating in the war against russia. In reality, this is a hoax. 

In fact, neither Le Point nor the BBC published such information. The video, which was fabricated by the russians, mimics Le Point’s visual style but has no connection with the French media outlet. StopFake also found no trace of this publication on Le Point’s website or on its official social media pages. The BBC’s website also contains no report on French mercenaries in Ukraine. Consequently, these figures have not been confirmed by any official French source or reputable international media outlet. Incidentally, the French government has previously refuted russian disinformation about ‘French mercenaries’ in Ukraine (in January 2024, the russian Ministry of Defence claimed that French soldiers had been killed in Kharkiv).
StopFake also examined the video itself, which is accompanied by background music and contains no narration or commentary from a journalist or press officer. It consists of short clips and graphic elements designed to imitate the style of *Le Point*. At the end of the video, the russians listed the names of Le Point experts Boris Hansel and Pierre Le Mouellic as the authors of the material. 
However, Boris Hansel specialises in dietetics and endocrinology. His work for the publication focuses on health, nutrition and medicine, not the war in Ukraine or foreign policy. There is no evidence linking Hansel to the widely circulated video about ‘French mercenaries’.
According to Osavul’s monitoring, the fake video first appeared on 12 June on the pro-russian Telegram channel ‘Republic of Gagauzia’, and was subsequently picked up by other kremlin-aligned media outlets. 
The narrative about ‘French mercenaries in Ukraine’ is regularly repeated by russian propaganda. However, all russian claims on this subject have been repeatedly refuted by French officials, journalists and experts.
Fake: 59 French people died from peptides sold by Ukrainian refugees.
Pro-russian bloggers distribute videos with the logo Agence France-Presse, which claims that a group of Ukrainian refugees allegedly traded in France with uncertified peptides – sports supplements diluted with harmful substances. According to the authors of the fake, this allegedly led to the death of 59 French citizens aged 16 to 55 years – from thromboembolism. All participants of the criminal group were allegedly arrested. 
However, this story is completely fabricated. None of the official pages of Agence France-Presse on social networks contains such publication. Search for keywords on the agency website also gave no results. In addition, real AFP video materials in Reels do not have a logo in the upper right corner. And also always contain signatures indicating the source, place and time of shooting for used video and photo materials. These signatures are not present in the fake. The use of a recognizable and reputable media brand is a typical reception of russian propaganda, designed to give fake the status of reliability. No reputable international or Ukrainian edition also reported such incidents in France. 
russians are constantly trying to compromise refugees, undermine trust in Ukraine among allies and destabilize the public atmosphere in the countries that support Ukraine. The real picture is the opposite: Ukrainian refugees not only successfully integrate into the societies of the countries that adopted them, but also bring them tangible economic benefits.
Based on materials from Stopfake.org, Spravdi.ua
Read more: Fake: Poland and France are preparing nuclear exercises simulating strikes on russia