CLAIM: France sent troops to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X that France has not deployed troops to Ukraine, calling the claim “disinformation.” Reports of the deployment cited a May 3 blog post by Stephen Bryen, a deputy undersecretary for the Department of Defense during the Reagan administration.
THE FACTS: Social media users are pointing to the blog post as proof that French troops have been sent to fight Russia alongside Ukraine as the war continues in its third year.
“France has sent its first troops officially to Ukraine,” the blog post reads. “They have been deployed in support of the Ukrainian 54th Independent Mechanized Brigade in Slavyansk. The French soldiers are drawn from France’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, which is one of the main elements of France’s Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère).”
Chinese scientists create mutant Ebola virus to skirt around biosafety rules
Medicare can pay for obesity drugs like Wegovy in certain heart patients
Gaza and Haiti are on the brink of famine, experts say. Here's what that means
US tuberculosis cases were at the highest level in a decade in 2023
Signatures submitted for 'top two' primary election in Republican
Study: Many cancer drugs unproven 5 years after accelerated approval
Mountain goat stuck under Kansas City bridge survives rocky rescue
This stinks. A noxious weed forces Arizona national monument's picnic area to close until May
This is the surprising risk of Ozempic NO ONE talks about
Study: Many cancer drugs unproven 5 years after accelerated approval
Signatures submitted for 'top two' primary election in Republican
Fake Mossad account spreads misinformation about airstrike that killed aid workers in Gaza