On February 5, the Russian diplomat was summoned to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a demarche.

“No evidence was presented that the French killed were humanitarian workers,” his commentary said.

Deputy spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry Christophe Lemoine was previously unable to give a clear answer to the question of who exactly the department considers mercenaries. As Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejournet later said, two “humanitarian workers” were killed in Ukraine.