An “act of Russian barbarity”.
France confirmed on Friday that two French people had been killed and three others injured in southern Ukraine.
Le Parisien takes stock of the first known elements surrounding these deaths.
The two French people who died in the Russian strike in Beryslav, in southern Ukraine, were both “humanitarians”, according to a message on X from the head of diplomacy Stéphane Séjourné.
“Two French humanitarian workers paid for their commitment to the Ukrainians with their lives.
Three are injured,” the minister said, adding that “Russia will have to answer for its crimes.”
The head of state in turn condemned X, a “cowardly and unworthy act”.
“My solidarity goes to all the volunteers who are committed to helping the populations,” continued Emmanuel Macron.
Two members of a Swiss Protestant NGO
What do we know about these French people?
According to ex-military aviator and defense consultant, Xavier Tytelman, the two men were “members of a Swiss religious association who came to do humanitarian work”.
They were both members of Swiss Protestant Entraide, known by the German acronym EPER, the consultant told Le Parisien.
The attack they suffered came from a “Russian kamikaze drone while they were in their car, on the right bank of the Dnieper, in Beryslav,” said Xavier Tytelman.
Thank you for pushing this information to the media who are repeating Kremlin propaganda which claims that these were fighters.
We must stop relaying Russian lies.
https://t.co/VjsaH9wlX2
— Xavier Tytelman (@PeurAvion) February 2, 2024
For now, the Protestant NGO EPER has confirmed the death of two of its collaborators on the front line in Ukraine, without however specifying their nationality.
“A group of collaborators were attacked (…) during a humanitarian intervention.
On this occasion, two of the team's valued colleagues tragically lost their lives and other collaborators were injured,” the NGO said in a press release.
Two volunteers killed in “enemy strike”
The death of the two French people was communicated on Thursday evening on Telegram by the governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin.
“Foreign volunteers were killed and injured due to an enemy strike on Beryslav,” he wrote on the social network.
“The Russian army killed two French citizens.
Three other foreigners were slightly injured” as well as a Ukrainian, he continued, without specifying the exact functions of these “volunteers”.
This expression is often used to refer to people who work on behalf of a humanitarian organization.
“All the victims had come to the Kherson region as volunteers,” said the Ukrainian police.
An investigation into violations of the laws of war has been opened.
The town of Beryslav, which had around 12,000 inhabitants before the war, is located on the northern bank of the Dnieper River, near the front line.
After Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised on X the memory of the “courageous French humanitarians” who “provided assistance to the populations”.
“Russian terror knows no borders or nationalities of victims,” he further underlined.