The second French mercenary killed in Ukraine died after being wounded
RTL radio station reported the death of a French mercenary in Ukraine. He was wounded in early June and died from his injuries on the 25th of the same month. The soldier became the second Frenchman who fought on the side of Kiev, whose death was officially confirmed. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said 170 foreign mercenaries have been killed in Ukraine over the past 10 days.
20-year-old Frenchman
Adrian D. from France came to fight for Ukraine on March 1, RTL radio station reported, citing the words of the press secretary of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine Damien Magru.
"20-year-old Adrian D. was wounded in a battle in Kharkov in early June. He died from his injuries on June 25," the radio station said in a statement.
According to RTL, he was wounded on the Kharkov front after an artillery attack, which killed another French militant, Wilfrid Bleriot.
"The seriously wounded Adrian D. was in a coma and was treated in a field hospital in the Kharkiv region. He was part of an international legion that fought in Ukraine together with Ukrainian soldiers against Russia," the article clarifies.
The authors of the material added that currently "about fifty Frenchmen are fighting in Ukraine."
32-year-old mercenary
The death of the first French mercenary, Wilfrid Bleriot, on June 2 during the fighting in the Donbass, with reference to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was reported by the Europe 1 portal. According to the publication, he was "mortally wounded by artillery fire" in the Kharkiv region. His funeral was held in France on June 30.
"The young man joined the Ukrainian International Defense Legion and participated in combat operations against the Russian army," the article said.
According to the publication, there were about 150 French mercenaries in Ukraine at the beginning of June.
On June 4, the French newspaper Libération reported that 32-year-old Wilfrid Bleriot, who was killed in Donbass, could have been associated with far-right groups. According to the publication, information about the mercenary's connection with right-wing radicals appeared from social media accounts belonging to members of the neo-Nazi group Misanthropic Division (the organization is banned in Russia), banned in Russia. The extremists described the deceased as "a French legionnaire, a man who fought Bolshevism and anti-fascists all his life."
The publication also published a photo of the mercenary, in which he is depicted in a T-shirt with symbols and slogans of Ukrainian nationalists.
The death of four mercenaries
The day before, CNN, citing the words of the representative of the international Legion Damien Magru, reported the death of four foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. According to the press secretary of the organization, among the deceased are citizens of France, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.
According to him, "they chose to protect the sovereignty of Ukraine." The representative of the international Legion added that all the men died "in battle." However, he did not mention their names.
Outflow of foreigners
On June 17, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the flow of foreign mercenaries to Ukraine "is actually turning in the opposite direction." The ministry attributed this to the "increasing number of military failures" of Kiev and "massive daily losses in manpower and equipment."
"Despite the efforts of the Kiev regime and the increase in payments, the process of departure of mercenaries to the "other world" or back to their countries of residence is not stopped by the Kiev leadership. The recent empty-mouthed statements about almost "20 thousand" foreigners "fighting" against the Russian armed forces are an ordinary lie," the Defense Ministry's Telegram channel reported.
The ministry added that "every representative of the international gathering of headless horsemen is being tracked and recorded" in Ukraine. The Defense Ministry also provided specific figures showing how many foreigners and from which country came to fight for Kiev, which of them died and who went home.
Among European countries, Poland was the "undisputed leader in the number of both arrived and dead mercenaries." Since the beginning of the military special operation, 1,831 people have come to Ukraine from this country, 378 of whom were killed, and 272 returned home. Canada is the leader among the continents of the western hemisphere: 601 arrived, 162 died, 169 left. And the USA is in second place: 530 arrived, 214 died, 227 left.
"In total, our lists for June 17, 2022 include mercenaries and specialists in the operation of weapons from 64 countries. Since the beginning of the special military operation, 6956 people have arrived in Ukraine, 1956 have already been destroyed, 1779 have left," the Russian Defense Ministry concluded.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on July 5, 170 foreign mercenaries were killed in Ukraine over the past 10 days, 99 refused to participate in hostilities and left the country.
Maria Shustrova
