“French, do not repeat the mistakes of your ancestors, their fate is known. » These threats, aimed at dissuading the French from fighting against Russia in Ukraine, were written on posters posted near the French embassy in Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also referred to these anti-French posters during a visit to Congo on Tuesday.
A black and white photo accompanies this call, showing a man in a black beret and sweater, tricolor badge on his arm. He is presented as part of the “French (who) have already fought against Russia alongside the Nazis”. The poster also calls on French soldiers to surrender to the Russian army, by calling a special frequency set up in the summer of 2023 by the Russian authorities to call on Ukrainian soldiers to become prisoners.
Renewed Franco-Russian tensions
A message summarized by Sergei Lavrov during a press briefing in Oyo, Congo. “While I was responding to you, another piece of news arrived,” he told reporters. “Near the French embassy in Moscow, posters appeared calling on French soldiers to become prisoners.” Contacted, the French embassy made no comment.
These posters come amid renewed Franco-Russian tensions around the possible sending of French military instructors to Ukraine. Last week, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Syrsky, affirmed that France would send instructors “soon”. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, however, clarified shortly after that the sending of instructors was “still under discussion” with France and other countries. French President Emmanuel Macron has also several times raised the possibility of sending Western troops to help kyiv.
Multiplication of warnings
Since then, Russia has increased its warnings against France. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not rule out that Russian forces could strike French instructors. At the end of April, skulls and a “Z” symbolizing support for the Russian army in Ukraine appeared directly on the walls of the embassy.