Putin claims that former French military fight with Russian troops in Ukraine, in a unit called “Normandy-niemen”

Russian leader Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, during a forum in Moscow, that there are people who share Russian values ​​in the West and that a number of French citizens take part in military operations in Ukraine with the Russian forces, reports Le Figaro, according to News.ro.

In a statement taken by the TASS news agency, the Russian leader said that a unit called “Normandia-niemen” includes French elements.

“Some French citizens are fighting in the area of ​​special military operation along with Russia. Their unit is called Normandy-niemen,” said the head of the Russian state.

According to a Russian journalist from the television station Rossia-1, a soldier with the “padre” indicative came to fight in Donbas in December last year, while another French soldier with the “Gautier” indicative arrived a month ago. According to the Russian journalist, the two volunteers are former officers of the French army. One of them would have been an instructor in the foreign legion, writes Le Figaro.

For his part, Vladimir Putin said that “there have always been people who share the values ​​of Russia in France” and expressed their joy “that such citizens exist today.”

“And today, some citizens of the French Republic, along with our fighters in the area of ​​special military operation, fight shoulder and have called their unity as well as their ancestors and great-grandfather, Normandy,” Putin said.

The Russian leader mentioned the history of the creation of the legendary “Normandy-Niemen” Regiment, which included French citizens who, despite the defeat of France in World War II, moved to the Soviet Union and fought alongside Soviet troops. “Some of the French patriots fought in detachments of partisans, called Maquis, and part on the fronts of the great patriotic war, along with our fighters,” Putin recalled.

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