Asger Risom
Russian leader says a unit named “Normandia-Niemen” includes French nationals aligned with Moscow’s military campaign
President Vladimir Putin has stated that former French military personnel are currently fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine.
Speaking Wednesday at a forum in Moscow, the Russian leader claimed that these fighters have formed a unit named “Normandia-Niemen”—a reference to the historic French-Soviet regiment of World War II.
A revival of Soviet-era symbolism
“There are French citizens who are fighting in the area of the special military operation alongside Russia,” Putin said, referring to the ongoing war in Ukraine. “Their unit is named Normandia-Niemen,” he added, as quoted by HotNews.ro.
The name is a symbolic nod to the original “Normandie-Niemen” fighter squadron—formed by Free French pilots who joined Soviet forces against Nazi Germany during World War II.
According to Putin, the current group fighting for Russia chose the name “just like their forefathers and great-grandfathers.”
Putin further stated that France “has always had people who share Russia’s values,” and expressed satisfaction that “such citizens still exist today.”
Alleged former French officers in Donbas
Russian state television channel Rossia-1 aired claims that two French nationals—identified only by their call signs, “Padre” and “Gautier”—are fighting in the Donbas region.
According to the broadcaster, one of them joined the front in December 2024, while the other arrived more recently. Both are reportedly former officers in the French military, with one having served as an instructor in the French Foreign Legion.
These claims have not been independently verified, and no official response has yet been issued by the French government. The potential involvement of French citizens in support of Russian forces, however, would mark a controversial departure from France’s stated policy of support for Ukraine.
A narrative rooted in wartime nostalgia
Putin’s remarks also served to reinforce a narrative of historical continuity between past and present military alliances.
He recounted how, during World War II, some French patriots joined Soviet partisans and fought on the Eastern Front despite France’s defeat by Nazi Germany. “Part of them fought in Maquis detachments, others on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War,” he said.
By invoking the name “Normandia-Niemen,” the Kremlin appears to be blending history with propaganda—framing foreign volunteers as heirs to a shared wartime legacy, even as Russia continues its controversial war in Ukraine.