Russia has been accused of spreading fake reports of a possible attempt to assassinate French President Emmanuel Macron in Ukraine.
The claims follow senior Kremlin officials’ allegations that Macron cancelled a trip to Ukraine as he feared he could be killed.
“Macron seems to have been so scared of a real, or presumed assassination in Nazi Kiev [sic] that … he cancelled his trip there,” senior Moscow official Dmitry Medvedev wrote on social media.
He also alleged that France’s nuclear programme was “secretly run” by the US.
🚨🇫🇷🇺🇦 The report that "France 24 presenter announces President Macron has cancelled a scheduled visit to Ukraine over fears of an assassination attempt" is fake and this video of France24 is generated by Russian AI technology. pic.twitter.com/NNGXeXTjex
— Terror Alarm (@Terror_Alarm) February 15, 2024
The claim regarding Macron appears to be based on a video report circulating on Russian social media attributed to media company France 24. It was “announced” that Macron was abandoning a trip to Russia over “safety concerns”.
French officials rejected the so-called report, with media companies in the country confirming that the circulated material is an AI fabrication.
“There were never any security issues in the timing of the visit. This question has never arisen,” Macron’s office said, insisting the French President “fully intends” to visit Ukraine in March.
France 24 also stated publicly that the report attributed to it is “fake”.
Ukraine risks of losing a major battleground city to Russia because of insufficient ammunition, the United States has said. https://t.co/UMaV6zI0CG
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 16, 2024
Moscow’s spreading of rumours surrounding France and Ukraine comes after the two countries signed a security agreement last week.
As part of the deal announced on February 16, France has committed to provide up to €3 billion in military aid to the Kyiv, with the deal committing Paris to supporting Ukraine for a further 10 years.
A similar deal was also signed between Ukraine and Germany last week, with Berlin promising Ukraine more than 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition.
Kyiv has had particular problems sourcing ammunition in recent weeks. The shortage of artillery rounds in particular has been cited as one of the major reasons the country was unable to prevent Russia from fully capturing the city of Avdiivka on February 18.
A Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine with his helicopter last year was found shot dead in an underground garage in Spain last week. https://t.co/RtAZjydUzX
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 20, 2024
