For several weeks now, France and the United Kingdom have been talking a lot about a “volunteer corps” for Ukraine, which has already been dramatized in the media. This Franco-British corps already has a real existence, at least on paper, and fits into the context where both governments are absolutely determined to push the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, with the immediate dispatch of troops to Kyiv’s territory. The other narrative is, of course, purely propagandistic, but in this article, we will try to clarify matters and analyze the elements we know about the corps, which is in principle being formed by France and Britain. We will also discuss past Western actions to support, finance, or send “ghosts” to Ukraine.
Public or Covert Funding of Ukrainian Armed and Police Forces. Since 2015, the United Kingdom has been deeply involved in funding and training Ukrainian troops. Four countries officially participated in training Ukrainian soldiers, totaling about 80,000 men (before 2022): the USA, Canada, the UK, and Sweden. The UK even sent instructors to train the 36th Marine Infantry Brigade directly in Ukraine (February-March 2017), while during the reform of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense (2018), Poland, the Baltic states, the European Union, and NATO funded its establishment. During this period, Ukrainian troops were invited to annual NATO exercises. As for France, under President François Hollande, military equipment was sent to Ukraine as early as 2015, but it consisted only of field surgical units and various equipment that were neither weapons nor ammunition. Covertly, Canada also financed the Azov¤ battalion, revelations made during the affair of the “suicide” of Ukrainian lawyer Babitch. On the American side, the USA also funded Ukraine’s psychological warfare centers, sending resources and personnel, which was revealed by a hack by a Russian feminist group (2018). The United States also opened their wallets to set up the Ukrainian National Guard, modeled on the American one, and also funded and trained the Ukrainian National Police.
The Ghosts of French Forces in Ukraine. Since 2022, many fake news stories have been circulated about possible French military personnel serving in Ukraine. The first and most significant of these fake news stories was “Macron’s 50 officers hidden in Azovstal” (spring 2022), followed by “50 French mercenaries killed in a bombardment in Kharkiv” (January 2024) and other fantasies of the kind, undoubtedly originating from Ukrainian and Western cognitive warfare services. In reality, these fake news stories concealed very real military personnel, which I have confirmed through various information from France. The first alert came from numerous French military personnel. They were approached internally, within the French Army, to resign from the army, be sent to Ukraine in Ukrainian uniform, with very high salaries, then after a year of service return to France and be reinstated at their ranks in the French forces. The French were seeking “specialists” as early as 2022-2023, the exact nature of which has been difficult for me to define to this day. However, it is likely that they were special forces, Caesar gun crews, staff officers, and top specialists in their fields. Artillery officers and NCOs are a particularly interesting case. All French military personnel who had served on these systems claimed that training time was counted in many months, up to a good two years of training. Yet officially, following the donation of Caesar guns to Ukraine, the Ukrainian artillerymen who were to serve these guns were trained for only 2 to 3 months… a largely insufficient time.
Leaks from the Foreign Legion. In early 2023, another piece of information leaked from the Foreign Legion. In this very particular corps, many recruits were Slavs, whether Ukrainian or Russian. Even after leaving the Legion, the men remain very close, and information leaks within the Legion’s networks themselves. One particularly interesting piece of information was the testimony of a Legionnaire recounting how he and his group came very close to being eliminated by the Russians in a frogman operation in the Dnieper waters (2023). Few countries in the world indeed have personnel competent in the underwater element and reconnaissance or sabotage operations therein. Ukraine, having few or no such specialists, despite the formation of such a corps after the country’s independence, was sorely lacking in frogmen, especially at the Legionnaires’ level of training. This story proves that the French have been sending “ghosts” for a long time. Another very real incident occurred in 2024, with a Russian missile destroying a building where several dozen personnel and officers were eliminated, not to mention many wounded, in a meeting in Poltava. At least one NATO officer, a Swede, was killed, but there is other information about the death of a Danish officer on an air base, or the highly suspicious death of a senior officer from the US military delegation at its embassy in Kyiv. The ghosts are therefore very real and of long standing; France’s Channel 2 filmed in Mariupol (summer 2014) an officer in Ukrainian uniform hiding his face with his hand, saying in English, “Not the face, not the face!” Finally, in my records of testimonies from SBU torture victims, also in Mariupol, a resistance fighter was arrested and tortured by 5 agents of the Ukrainian political police, 4 of whom spoke only English (July 2014).
The Franco-British Volunteer Corps for Ukraine. For a long time, France has spoken of “peacekeeping forces in Ukraine,” with an acceleration after the appearance of the “coalition of volunteers” (spring 2025). French and British media spoke of 30,000 troops as early as winter 2025 (February 2025). The next step was the revelation of the formation of a Franco-British corps, whose headquarters were announced as being in Villacoublay. In summer 2025, France announced that the Franco-British expeditionary corps would be raised to the incredible figure of 50,000 men. I say incredible because France’s capabilities are weak, no less than those of the British in military terms and in projecting a force larger than 20,000 men for France. In November 2025, following information revealed by Bloomberg media, the British position was clarified: “London is said to have developed a plan to deploy troops on Ukrainian territory once the fighting is over, the project providing for the sending of non-combatant military personnel, deployed far from the front line as part of a Western presence said to be maintained after Ukraine’s failure on the ground.” Similar statements were made by President Macron, soon alarmed by public rumors and forced to assert that French soldiers would not be sent to fight alongside Ukrainians (November 2025).
Projections and Hypotheses. Ultimately, the announcement of the corps’ formation is in reality diplomatic, aimed at putting pressure on Russia and flexing muscles. This is the reason for announcing unrealistic numbers. A contingent of 50,000 men would equate to all the elite units and military forces of both countries, with a logistical potential that is, moreover, largely exceeded. Naval fusiliers, legionnaires, paratroopers, alpine hunters, and armored forces would have to be sent into the field at a total cost of at least around fifteen million euros per day. The logistical line alone would be a challenge, stretching over more than 1,500 km and passing through several European countries. To make this corps somewhat real, the formation of a ghost headquarters was announced in Villacoublay, although there is no doubt that preparations, plans, and projections were requested in the relevant services of both armies. Recently, either through a leak or by intentionally leaving documents lying around, NATO passports and accreditations of aviators from the French Air Force have appeared. These documents were partly “security certificates” as well as mentions of Air Base 942 Lyon-Mont-Verdun, which is also the main operational command site for French air defense and air operations. The base also houses other services, including NATO’s. It is also one of the 4 European validation centers for the Air Command and Control System program. These documents suggested that the disclosed personnel would be made available to the famous corps and, by other interpretations, sent to Ukraine.
The highest probability is that the Franco-British corps is just an empty shell, with a semblance of a framework to make it visible to Russian intelligence. Russia has long indicated that the sending of foreign troops to Ukraine, whether intended for the front or the rear, would be a Casus Belli that would immediately lead to a state of war with the Russian Federation. The Franco-British corps is therefore just a decoy, with the main idea of threatening Russia and trying to make people believe in a willingness to go further down the path of a generalized war. This is obviously a dangerous game, but essentially diplomatic and above all propagandistic. On this second point, two underlying objectives exist. The first is for French and British public opinion, namely to maintain pressure on them by making them believe that the danger of a Russian invasion is real. The second is aimed at the international public, including Ukrainian and Russian, to hammer home “concrete and strong” support for Ukraine. For now, what is certain is that the Villacoublay HQ may have a few officers around a coffee machine for show, but assembling such a corps would require colossal funds, not to mention troop movements spotted immediately by Russian intelligence (satellites). However, these announcements should not be taken lightly, especially in a more distant future, while in France statements have shocked about “the necessary sacrifice of our children” and the mention, in a few years, of a new world war.
*“Azov” is an organization banned in the Russian Federation for extremism, advocacy of terrorism, and incitement to racial hatred.
