Humanitarian Aid Fraud and Social Media Propaganda: How Russian Influence Works in France

Читайте українською у двох частинах тут і тут.

About organizations, people, and media that promote Russian narratives and spread the influence of the aggressor state in France.

On May 8, the French cities of Montpellier, Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Béziers, and Strasbourg held the “Immortal Regiment” (Бессмертный полк) rallies. Russians took to the main street of Montpellier with St. George's ribbons, flags of Russia, the Belarusian Lukashenko regime, and pro-Russian terrorist organizations in eastern Ukraine. The organizers were not discouraged by the resistance of pro-Ukrainian activists, who met the event with counter rallies. In particular, on the eve of the march, the Ukrainian community appealed to the local Prefecture and Montpellier City Hall to prevent the event from being held in the city center, but these appeals were ignored.

This event exposed a whole network of organizations and public figures that are strengthening Russian influence in France, not only through such rallies but also by spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the French media, as well as historical, educational, cultural, and even spiritual initiatives. “Detector Media” has identified dozens of such individuals, as well as evidence that their work is not only approved but also strongly supported by the Kremlin itself. In this investigation, we discuss the main actors of Russian influence in France and how the Ukrainian community in this country is attempting to counter it.

The material mentions only those organizations and individuals for whom it was possible to find evidence of their pro-Russian activities and/or ties to the Kremlin in open sources, as well as on the basis of comments from people who work directly with this issue in France on condition of anonymity. 

Around 200 people gathered at the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier. And a woman who resembles the local coordinator of the “Immortal Regiment” in Montpellier, Alfia Fabre, put on a cap with a red star cockade. On her Facebook page, she congratulates St. Petersburg on its birthday, reposts videos with covers of “Smuglyanka” (a Soviet World War II song appropriated by the Russian propaganda), invites people to join the International Immortal Regiment online, and posts her memories of reciting Russian poetry on the occasion of Victory Day.

A woman who resembles Alfia Fabre at the local “Immortal Regiment” event in Montpellier. The source: video of one of the Ukrainian activists present at the counter-rally

This event, as well as others that promote anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, were found to be organized by French pro-Russian organizations such as “Amitiés Russes et avec les Peuples de l'ex-URSS”, “L'association France-Russie Convergences”, and others. In addition to public events, each of these associations and others like them spreads Russian narratives on their social media pages. The official accounts of these associations state that they were allegedly created “to deepen friendship between the peoples of Russia and France,” but in reality, they openly support Russian aggression, justify crimes against the Ukrainian people, and promote Euroscepticism.

Other French associations also worked on the organization of these rallies, such as l'Université européenne populaire, “Apocalypse non”, “Stop Russophobia”, “Mouvement mondial des femmes bulgares pour la paix”, “Liberté et vérité”. The demonstration was also attended by representatives of such organizations as “SOS Donbass” and “Cosaques de France”. In Paris, it came to the point where two separate “Regiment” rallies were held simultaneously this year due to a quarrel between different diaspora organizations.

According to the national French registers of NGOs, the association l'Université européenne populaire was created by a Pole, Monika Karbowska. This organization exists only in Karbowska's social media profiles and in the registers (the website of this NGO is down). This “university” has a similar name to similar institutions in Strasbourg and Grenoble, which have nothing to do with pro-Russian rhetoric. This is another tactic used by the Russian diaspora in Europe: creating NGOs with similar names to existing and popular projects to divert attention from them.

If you look at Karbowska's Facebook profile, you will find another collection of Russian propaganda. There are materials about how the wife of the Ukrainian president, Olena Zelenska, allegedly “kidnapped” and “illegally took” children from the regions of Ukraine, and a Polish-language post about a Russian combat laser system used on the battlefield, as part of the “special operation.” In her posts, the woman also spreads pro-Russian optics about Poland, for example, hinting that the “Solidarity” movement was allegedly an element of external control and that Poland was supposedly better off during the communist era. There are also posts about NATO allegedly preparing for war with Russia through “Polish hands.” Karbowska regularly reposts materials from various smaller propagandists, both French- and Polish-speaking, on her page.

Various figures representing the Russian community in France, as well as their “friends” with French citizenship, meet regularly in an informal gathering called the “Forum of Russian Compatriots in France”. This organization elects a “Coordinating Council” from among its members. This is stated in the association's charter:

"The purpose of the Association is to give the Coordinating Council, elected by the Forum of Russian Compatriots in France, a legal existence that allows it to fulfill the roles and missions authorized by the Forum. In this regard, the Association coordinates the activities of the members of the Forum, represents, supports, protects, and promotes their interests, and, more generally, gives effect to the orientations and decisions adopted by the Forum, reporting to it on this matter."

According to the Association's legal address, it has an office in Paris, on rue de Saussure. The head of the Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots in France is Gueorgui Chepelev. The man claims to be a historian and lecturer at the Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris. However, no information about him can be found on the university's website. In 2011, according to The Insider, Chepelev pretended to be an opposition activist and even created a group called “The Union of Russian Voters for Fair Elections.” But already in 2012, Chepelev joined the Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots in France. In 2014, he began to hold rallies against the “genocide in Ukraine” and to support the Kremlin's statements.

In particular, Chepelev became a frequent guest in the Russian media. In one of his comments to TASS, the Russian national press agency, he condemned the freezing of cultural ties between Russia and France, arguing that culture, science, and sports should be protected from sanctions in times of geopolitical crises. He calls rhetoric in support of that “a balancing factor that prevents all-out war and fighting at every crossroads.” In addition, he calls the topic of collective responsibility outdated.

On his Facebook page, Chepelev shares materials that are examples of Russian propaganda and have been repeatedly circulated in other outlets. In particular, he shared a post with the full version of the Russian documentary “Operation Stream”, which, according to him, “describes the reality of a ‘military operation’”. The film lasts about an hour and depicts “unknown details of the feat” of Russian militants who “heroically defend the civilian population of Sudzha from Ukrainian terrorists.” The author of the video compares the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Nazi occupiers and claims that their helmets allegedly also bear the SS insignia. The video also refers to “the atrocities of the Ukrainian military against Russian civilian elders who were tortured and shot.” In the video, Russian army reserve Lieutenant Colonel Roman Shkurlatov says that 30-40% of the Ukrainian army that took part in the Kursk operation were allegedly “foreign mercenaries” and NATO soldiers.

He also has posts on his page that discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyy and call on Ukrainians to fight against the mobilization and work of the local military units. Chepelev’s other posts also suggest that, in his opinion, Russians and Ukrainians are “brother nations.” To justify his rhetoric and add more credibility to it, the man also says that he has many friends from Ukraine. For example, he shared a post about “Russian Nazis fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” by Marta Havryshko, a woman who claims to be a Ukrainian researcher working in the United States. She also spreads the idea that neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine are allegedly sponsored by Western democracies. Her posts are an example of “subtle” Russian propaganda - she does not showcase her support for Russia blatantly but rather spreads disinformation and propaganda against Ukrainian nationalists (calling them neo-Nazis) and other narratives close to those of the Kremlin subtly.

Shepelev is one of the pro-Russian activists in France who filed a lawsuit against Cécile Cecier, a professor of Slavic studies who wrote the book “Kremlin Networks in France” and published it in 2016. She did research based on publications by various media and information available in open sources, which confirms that the Kremlin cooperates with the Russian diaspora in the country, as well as French politicians. In addition to Chepelev, the class action “defamation” lawsuit against Cecier includes Olivier Berouet, co-founder of the “Les crises” website, activist George Kuzmanovich, author of the website “Europe and Russia,” Pierre Lamble, and Vera Nikolsky, author of a dissertation on the ideologue of Russian aggression, Alexander Dugin. According to “The Insider,” they were also joined by Swiss writer Hélène Richard-Favre, who wrote an open letter to Nobel Literature Prize Winner Svetlana Alexievich titled “Madame Alexievich, You Are Lying...”.

Olivier Berruyer is not very active on social media (the last posts on his Facebook profile date back to 2011, and on “X” - to 2023), unlike the other people on this list. He positions himself primarily as an economist and sociologist. However, since 2014, he has been publishing anti-Ukrainian articles and op-eds on various platforms, where he has always sided with Russia. Now the man is giving interviews in French on YouTube, where he calls any materials of the Western media that are not pro-Russian “war propaganda” and predicts Ukraine's imminent fall while repeating other Russian narratives.

Georges Kuzmanovic, on the other hand, is active on Facebook, where he claims to be a political analyst, and often appears on the “Fréquence Populaire Media” YouTube channel (92.9 thousand subscribers). Both in his videos and in his posts, Kuzmanovic repeats the clichés of Russian propaganda. In some of them, he says that German Chancellor Merz is allegedly “leading the country to suicide” after meeting with Zelensky. Or that Ukraine will lose the war this fall. The man showcases even minor manifestations of anti-Russian rhetoric and mentions them on his page, criticizing them, such as Greenpeace France's opposition to further energy cooperation between France and Russia. One of his key arguments is that Russia is a nuclear power, and therefore, France should definitely listen to Russia and cooperate with it. Kuzmanovic also frequently gives comments to Russian media.

Pierre Lamble calls himself a philosopher and historian, but his website “Europe and Russia,” which is mentioned in the lawsuit, actually looks like a Russian propaganda manual. It contains all the classic tropes of anti-Ukrainian rhetoric: about American snipers on the Euromaidan, about the “civil war” in Donbas, about “Ukrainian Nazis”, and about how Zelensky's victory was “the collapse of Ukraine” and the West's sanctions policy was “an incredible growth” for Russia. The page is in French and contains comments and interviews with other similar personalities with the same clichés. The “Apocalypse Non” website is very similar in its content, except that it contains more recent materials by pro-Russian activists and media outlets in France. In particular, you can find a forty-minute video report from this year's “Immortal Regiment” in Paris here.

Thanks to the event, it is possible to find out whether these organizations are in any way connected to the Russian government or its agencies. For example, the Russian Consul General in France, Stanislav Oransky, took part in this year's “Immortal Regiment” rally in Montpellier. In Paris, the “official part” of it, with Russian diplomats laying flowers on the graves, took place on May 7. Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Meshkov, accompanied by a military attaché, laid a wreath at the monument to Russian soldiers who died in the French Resistance Movement during World War II, located at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. The ceremony was also attended by Russia's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Rinat Alyautdinov, and the leadership of the Russian House of Science and Culture in Paris, according to a communiqué from the Russian Embassy in France. In addition, Russians and “friends of Russia” from other cities in the southern part of the country, such as Toulouse, Nice, Marseille, Toulon, and Nimes, gathered in Montpellier. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church also participated in the rally.

The “SOS Donbass” association and its coordinator Anna Novikova are particularly active in Paris. In particular, in a video from this year’s “Immortal Regiment” rally, Novikova shouts “Glory to Russia!” Thanks to the efforts of activists of the Association of Ukrainians in France, who filed a lawsuit, she is now under investigation, and the organization's account was closed by the bank without explanation. Novikova is also on the FPR list, which contains individuals who pose a terrorist threat or a threat to the public/national security. She constantly boasts about this in her interviews with Russian and French media, saying that she is “on the S list.” The “S dossier” refers to people who are suspected of terrorist activities or direct/indirect involvement in undermining state security, but whose offenses have not yet been confirmed at this point.

“Helping Donbas residents, actions “in support of war victims”, donations to organize humanitarian convoys to the conflict theater... At first glance, Sud Ouest Solidarité Donbass - or SOS Donbass - is one of the many associations created in France as part of the surge of generosity caused by the Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022," “Le point wrote” in its article about the NGO. “But have all donors realized that SOS Donbas is in fact a pro-Russian NGO?”

In her interviews, including for the information portal of her hometown of Yugorsk, Novikova says that “when Russia won the right to host the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2007, I moved there from Moscow and began working as an organizer of tourist exhibitions promoting the Olympics internationally.” She permanently moved to France due to her marriage to a French man. After receiving some French education, she opened her own travel agency, which organized excursions to Siberia to “let [the French] know that Russia is a huge multinational country that holds many cultural and historical riches.”

Now she works as an “assistant director” in an elite chain of barbershops. The owner of the chain is allegedly a very famous person in France who recently won the national award “Man of the Year” in the field of hairdressing. “For your understanding, he was once the personal hairdresser of French President Macron. But after French intelligence learned that he employed a “Russian partisan”, he was deprived of the privilege of working with the first person of the state,” - Novikova brags in the interview. When searching for information to confirm that in open sources, the name of this hairdresser could not be found, even when checking awards similar in concept, since the “Man of the Year” award in the field of hairdressing does not formally exist in France.

However, the reference to the mysterious “hairdresser” is not accidental, at least for the reason Novikova was placed on the “S-list.” According to her interviews, her boss “understands her civic position” and does not associate it with her professional activities. In the spring of 2023, Novikova and other members of “SOS Donbass” collected humanitarian aid in several European cities, disguising it as aid for Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories, and took it to the east of the country.

"At first, we were stopped for two days at the Estonian border because, as it turned out, humanitarian aid cannot be transported from Europe to Russia due to international sanctions. I used all my extensive connections to solve the problem. For example, I contacted my boss, a hairdresser, who in turn called Roman Abramovich (the Russian tycoon oligarch - DM), but he could not do anything, despite all his international influence. At some point, an Estonian customs officer, seeing our woes, advised us to re-register the cargo to a recipient from Ukraine. Then we quickly started looking for a suitable Ukrainian foundation. We found a like-minded person in Kyiv. He was a Luhansk local with pro-Russian views who, for the sake of conspiracy, created a charity foundation called "Glory to Ukraine. Glory to Heroes". We made this foundation the recipient of humanitarian cargo."

The editors of the “The Other Side of the Dialogue” web page decided to find out more about this Ukrainian organization. They found it on the “YouControl” platform, which tracks Ukrainian NGOs using the code and name that were indicated on the customs declaration of the same convoy. When we independently tried to find more information about the person in whose name the organization is registered (Andrii Kovaliov) and about the NGO itself, we did not find any information about it, except for Novikova's confession about the transfer of the convoy.

According to the “SOS Donbass” coordinator, it was after that same trip to the temporarily occupied territories that the French authorities blocked the organization's bank account, “so [they] had to find a partner organization that agreed to accept donations for Donbass residents.” In an interview with TASS, Novikova claimed that during her interrogation in this case, the French police accused her of “helping the Russian armed forces,” but the only information publicly available about this investigation is Anna's own words.

French blogger Karine Bechet-Golovko also made her own version of the investigation about Novikova and her organization, where, as a person who has also registered NGOs in France, she explains that a rapid pace of registration of “SOS Donbass” may indicate some support from the French authorities, either at the local or national level. Le point, in an article about the investigation into the case, also points to strange patterns in the organization's registration. In particular, “SOS Donbass” was created the day before the sham referendum in the temporarily occupied territories of eastern Ukraine in 2022, and the name of the NGO is very similar to “Sud Ouest Solidarité,” the name of a French charity organization established in 1947 that collected aid for Ukrainians in the same period in 2022.

“SOS Donbass” began its activity by holding rallies not only in French cities but also, for example, in Brussels, calling for the termination of aid to Ukraine and “sending diplomats, not weapons.” The organization's website has a petition against arms supplies to Ukraine, and its Facebook page spreads other Kremlin talking points.

Another organization that actively organizes pro-Russian rallies and works closely with “SOS Donbass” is “Cosaques de France” (“Cossacks of France”). Their “ataman” (chief) is Guennadi Chmyrev, who is most active on Russian VKontakte among all social networks. On his profile there, you can see reposts of a video of Novikova reciting poetry in honor of Russia Day. Shmyrev also published interviews with other “Cossacks” fighting in the Russian army against Ukrainians. In addition, he spreads other Russian propaganda clichés on this page, for example, scaring that Ukrainians admire Symon Petliura and repeating the premise about “Ukrainian Nazis.” Because of its activities, the “Cossack chieftain” was added to the “Myrotvorets” database. In its social media, the “Cossacks” association almost identically repeats the content from Chmyrev's pages - in particular, it broadcast a military parade from Moscow in honor of May 9. And the day before, it published photos from the “Immortal Regiment” with the name of Sevastopol written on a Russian flag.

The group has been engaged in anti-Ukrainian activities since 2014, and in 2018 it held rallies in France in memory of the leader of pro-Russian terrorists in the occupied Donetsk region, Zakharchenko, and other actions in support of the separatists. According to the “Myrotvorets” database, Chmyrev is a confidant of the Russian Embassy in France. His direct contacts with the Kremlin are also indicated by a personal certificate of appreciation for his activities from a member of the Russian Presidential Working Group on Cossacks in the Voronezh region and the national orders. In addition, Dmitry Medvedev has spoken out in support of the organization, stating after the sentencing of French politician Marine Le Pen that “only Russian Cossacks can restore freedom to France.”

According to his VKontakte and “Myrotvorets” profiles, he is also associated with a private company, GTIN Finance Group. Registries show that the company is registered in Estonia under the name of Chmyrev. It is officially engaged in “heavy industry” and equipment manufacturing, but the firm also has a negative credit history and debts. The financial situation of GTIN Finance Group is characterized as “risky”. The risky nature of the man's business activities is also indicated by a confession posted on “Myrotvorets” by a woman who allegedly knows the “Cossack chieftain” personally. According to her, she had to sell her jewelry in a difficult moment and turned to Chmyrev for help. He agreed to take up the case and at the same time allegedly told the woman that he was dealing with the issue of “Cossacks” in France, among other things, because he was interested in antiques, and that “descendants of Cossacks” in France allegedly had quite a lot of them. The woman claims that Chmyrev deceived her and returned a fake instead of the jewelry.

According to the “Myrotvorets” database, an agent of the Russian special services, Andre Michel Chanclu, also participated in the organization of the rally in memory of Zakharchenko and is connected to Chmyrev. In particular, he founded the “Comite France-Donbass”, is the president of the “Collectif France-Russie” organization and is a member of the organizing committee of the “Novopole” organization, which has been calling itself “the representation of free Novorossia in France” since 2014. Chanclu himself was an “observer” at the pseudo-referendum in the temporarily occupied territories in 2022, as well as the pseudo-elections there in 2023. The man also began his career by being active in the French right-wing radical student organization Groupe Union Défense, which was banned by the French court in 2023. In 2022, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine imposed sanctions on Chanclu. His Facebook account is not accessible, but he maintains a VKontakte page where he repeats the clichés of Russian propaganda, especially those related to the temporarily occupied territories. He publishes posts in French about the “extraordinary level of Russophobia” in Europe and the “Nobel Prize for Patience” for Putin. Chanclu is also involved in the release and screening of the English-language propaganda documentary “The Realities of Donbass,” which calls Euromaidan a “coup” and features the man himself talking about his experience as an “observer.”

If you look for information about the above-mentioned organizations which Chanclu is associated with, you can only find a private Facebook group called “Comite France-Donbass,” but the man is not among the group's administrators. This group with more than 1800 subscribers spreads propaganda narratives, starting with the fact that the OSCE allegedly recognized that “more than 70% of violations of the rules of war were committed by the Ukrainian side” and ending with the translation and quotation of Polish President Andrzej Duda's words about the need for concessions from Ukraine in historically sensitive issues.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the French party Solidarité & Progrès (founded by Jacques Cheminade) has been systematically advocating “peace talks” and normalization of relations between the United States and France with Russia. For example, one of the materials on the party's website dated March 27, 2025, claims that the “normalization of relations between the two superpowers” will allegedly open “numerous ways” for positive changes in the world. At the same time, these publications portray the West and NATO as the initiators of the war and a “factor of madness” that leads the world to a “dead end.” In particular, the party also opposes sanctions against Russia and calls them an “economic disaster” for the West. Party leader Cheminade has repeatedly made openly anti-Western statements - for example, in 2024, he called on France to demand the dissolution of NATO as a “too dangerous” structure that allegedly aimed to destroy nations. The politician also joined one of the “Immortal Regiment” demonstrations in Paris this year, where he gave a speech “reminding of the fraternity between Russian and French soldiers,” and the party's website emphasized in its story about the event that Russia's contribution was crucial to the victory in World War II, which somewhat correlates with the messages of Russian propaganda in Europe. However, in the French media, Cheminade is called a “conspiracy theorist” and the party itself is called far-right and marginalized, as it has never been represented in either the national parliament or the European Parliament.

This year, for the first time, Sophia Chikirou, a member of the “La France insoumise” (LFI) party, joined the “Immortal Regiment” too. In a video from the event, she stands next to the Russian tricolor and calls Ukraine's possible accession to NATO and the European Union a “provocation.” This caused a stir in the French media, as evidenced by a number of publications in response to which Chikirou had to deny her participation in the rally, calling it a “protest movement against the right.” The LFI, founded by Jacques-Luc Melenchon, is considered a left-wing radical party that has more influence in the political arena than S&P, as the LFI will have about 75 deputies in the French National Assembly after the 2022 elections (the party is part of the NUPES faction). Although in 2022 the party's leader condemned Russia and called Ukraine a victim of aggression, the day after the full-scale invasion began, he blamed NATO for it. In their podcast, France Televisions calls Melenchon a “Russophile.” Chikirou’s move shows that Russia is cooperating not only with a specific political group but with a diverse range of political movements that may represent radically different views on a number of issues but coincide in their position on the events in Ukraine.

Another French politician who supports Russia is MEP Thierry Mariani, who is described as a right-wing radical. From 2012 to 2019, he headed the “Dialogue Franco-Russe” association. It was created in 2004 under the patronage of then-French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It positions itself as “an instrument of communication between the political, economic, and cultural circles of the two countries” and aims to “contribute to the deepening of the strategic relations and privileged partnership between France and Russia.” Currently, the association organizes monthly online meetings on “challenges of Franco-Russian cooperation.” After 2019, Mariani co-chairs the association with Sergueï Katasonov, who was sanctioned by Ukraine, and Irina Dubois, who often appears in posts on the website and videos from conferences, is the director and host of the organization's YouTube channel. The organization continues to participate in Kremlin-affiliated events after February 24, 2022 - for example, on November 2, 2022, the Alexander Gorchakov Foundation for Public Diplomacy, in cooperation with the “Dialogue,” held an online discussion on “Security in Europe: The Role of the Russian Federation and France.” The participants of the event characterized current international relations and structures that support a “unipolar” world as “outdated,” with an emphasis on the statement by French politician Christian Cambon that Russia and France could form a new security architecture that would be an alternative to NATO. 

The Institute for European Integrity (IEI) classifies the organization's funding as “non-transparent” and points out that until 2022 it shared an office with the Russian Railways (RZhD) and the Russian House of Science and Culture in Paris. "The profile of the France-Russia Dialogue association includes the following elements: 1: senior management with links to organized crime; 2: cooperation with a sanctioned diplomatic fund; 3: a co-president who is also a member of the European Parliament and is under investigation for money laundering," the IEI notes. The Institute also points out that until 2018, Mariani held a position in the “ethics committee” of Russia Today (RT). The MEP was also co-chairman of the advisory board of CFG Capital together with Alexander Torshin, a sanctioned person with ties to organized crime through the intermediary Alexander Romanov. In addition, CFG Capital participated in a joint economic investment fund with Marshall Capital of pro-Putin, sanctioned Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofeev. In particular, their investigation also states that as the honorary president of the “Dialog” until at least February 2022, Vladimir Yakunin “has a unique resume that includes [roles as] a former KGB officer, sanctioned security official, former owner of Russian Railways, and current trustee of the sanctioned Russian Public Diplomacy Foundation, Alexander Gorchakov.” And “Prince Alexander Trubetskoy (aka ”Alexander Trubetskoy“ or ‘Trubetskoy’)” is, according to the IEI, the main recruiter of Parisian politicians into Russia's orbit. During 2011-2013, he was a member of the board of Svyazinvest Communications, and his presence can be found in other companies linked to Yakunin, Malofeev, and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Other French politicians can also be found among the members of the “Dialogue.” In particular, Michel Voisin, a former French Republican MP and former head of the French delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, is involved in the organization. Since 2018, he has been actively participating as a “foreign observer” in pseudo-elections organized in the temporarily occupied territories, and in 2024 he also “observed” the presidential elections there. Another member of the association is Nicolas Dhuicq, who first lost his mayor position in 2020, then actively supported the Reconquête party, then Marine Le Pen and her political force, and later became a member of the right-wing radical “Droite Populaire.” In addition to traveling as an “observer” to the temporarily occupied territories, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has been actively speaking in the French and Kremlin media, repeating the messages of Russian propaganda. For example, in 2022, on the eve of the French presidential election, he gave an interview to the Russian foreign news agency “Sputnik,” in which he said that Emmanuel Macron was allegedly “an agent of American depository banking” and talked about the influence of a “very rich gay lobby” on his campaign.

The “Dialogue” also includes Fabrice Sorlin, a French right-wing radical politician who once belonged to the National Front party, who moved to Moscow in 2015 and received Russian citizenship in 2022. He combines his membership in this association with the vice presidency of the “International Russophile Movement” (MIR), an organization created in 2023 in close cooperation with Malofeev. He also regularly comments on Russia for the French and Kremlin media, spreading messages about Russia's economic growth, the “decline of Europe” and how “life is being restored” in the TOT, especially in Donetsk and Mariupol.

Jacques Hogard, a former French army colonel, participant in military operations in Africa, and author of military history works, also cooperates with the association. Since 2022, he has been actively commenting on the war in Ukraine in French and Russian media, spreading pro-Russian messages. For example, through his social media account “X” (formerly Twitter), he promotes the rhetoric of “NATO's aggression against Russia” and in an interview with the French publication Le Dialogue in 2024, he stated that the war was “almost over” with Russia's victory, and NATO was losing because “Ukraine cannot win” due to “psychological and demographic catastrophe.” In the same year, he was a panelist at the “Dialogue’s” event entitled “Is France at war with Russia”. In addition, in the same year, 2024, Hogard published the book “La guerre en Ukraine: Regard critique..” (“The War in Ukraine: Regarding Criticism...”), in which, in addition to the above-mentioned messages and other stamps of Russian propaganda, he blames the United States and NATO for Russian aggression against Ukraine and describes Western sanctions as a provocative step, justifying Russia's actions.

On October 25, 2022, Le Monde reported that the organization is currently under the crosshairs of Parisian justice, and the investigation is being conducted by JUNALCO, a unit of the prosecutor's office whose main task is to fight organized crime. With the two main targets being Thierry Mariani and another French politician who is a member of the Dialogue, Yves Pozzo di Borgo, the investigation is focused on money laundering activities, while also trying to establish facts related to influence peddling and corruption involving the Association. Mariani was also suspected of laundering Russian money through a phantom driving school in the Paris suburbs that opened in his name in the spring of 2021, according to the same source. "It's a strange story. The material that was used to compile it was taken from the Ukrainian website ‘Myrotvorets’ (including his passport data - DM's note)," commented the MEP himself, who filed a complaint about identity theft in August 2023. Both investigations were closed on October 10, 2024.

Also connected to the “Dialogue” is the “spiritual and cultural center” of the Russian Orthodox Church, which opened in 2016. The cathedral, funded by the Kremlin, cost about 170 million euros, according to “Radio Liberty.” In December 2016, it was personally consecrated by Moscow Patriarch Kirill. This was reported by the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church, in Ukrainian, Moldovan, and Russian. The complex covers an area of 4245 square meters and is located near the Eiffel Tower, which is considered the territory of Russia. It includes the Holy Trinity Cathedral with five gilded domes, a parish center, a school, a cultural center, including a bookstore, an exhibition space, and a cafe. Asked whether it is an ordinary church or a Russian center of influence, Ukrainian activist in Paris Volodymyr Kogutyak says that participants in demonstrations of active pro-Russian movements often used this church as a meeting place. Vanity Fair once wrote about the history of the Kremlin's significant involvement in the creation and maintenance of this facility.

Before the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian media outlets such as “Antikor” and LB.ua published lists of French politicians and figures sympathetic to Russia. At least a few of these individuals are still active in supporting the Kremlin in France and have not lost their influence on the French political scene. In particular, Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, a former member of the European Parliament, in addition to being an “observer” in the elections in the temporarily occupied territories after 2014, played a key role in negotiating a €9 million loan from the First Czech-Russian Bank for Marine Le Pen's party. For his participation, he received a commission of 140 thousand euros, according to the French publication “Mediapart.” In 2023, correspondence between Alexander Babakov, the Russian President's envoy for relations with compatriots abroad, and Schaffhauser and Le Pen was leaked online, through which the politician received more than 250,000 euros for the activities of his organization Académie européenne in exchange for speeches in the European Parliament in support of Russia and its policies. The organization is not very active in the information space. “The Washington Post” journalists paid special attention to Schaffhauser's activities in their articles about Russia's influence on the 2024 elections in a number of European countries. One of them states that the politician still maintains close contact not only with Babakov but also with the head of Russia's foreign intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin. In addition, Russian diplomat Ilya Subbotin paid monthly rent for one floor of the ex-MEP's house. In 2023-2024, Schaffhauser was investigated by the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office for his financial transactions, and French counterintelligence (DGSI) identified the politician as a key figure in Russia's influence campaign in France.

The lists also include Jean-Pierre Chevènement, who, according to “Anticor,” supported the annexation of Crimea and was a member of leftist governments five times, as Minister of Research and Technology, Minister of Industry, Minister of Education, Minister of National Defense and Minister of the Interior. In 2017, he was awarded the Russian Order of Friendship “for his efforts to strengthen peace, friendship and mutual understanding between peoples.” He is currently the head of the Res Publica Foundation, which has a security focus at the heart of its activities. Although Chevènement clearly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he is also critical of the continuation of sanctions and arms supplies that could draw France into a direct war. In addition, the politician is in favor of resuming a dialogue with Russia based on a real balance of power in Europe, seeing a pragmatic need for multipolarity.

We are also talking about Emmanuel Leroy, a former employee of Marine Le Pen's party, and now the head of the organization “Urgence Enfants du Donbass” for humanitarian missions to the TOT and since 2023 a Russian citizen. He acted as an “observer” at the so-called “referendum” in the TOT in September 2022. He publicly stated that the voting allegedly took place in accordance with international standards, and that “Donbas residents consider it a return to the Motherland”. He made statements such as his commentary for FranceSoir in 2022, where he claimed that the West was allegedly focused on hegemony rather than defense, and called Euromaidan a “coup.” However, according to the Facebook page of the aforementioned organization, its last action so far took place in 2022 in Volnovakha.

There is also a pro-Russian dimension to French business, embodied in the Russian-French Chamber of Commerce, or CCI France-Russie, which still operates in Moscow. In particular, according to a Radio France investigation, it has about 400-450 members (Russian and French). Among them are leading companies from various sectors that had been operating in Russia before the war. The Chamber is funded mainly by their contributions. For example, in 2019, its Economic Council included up to 40 large enterprises (annual contribution is about 50 thousand euros). French business leaders participated in the meetings of this council at that time: Auchan, Adeo (Leroy Merlin), Total (Energies), Société Générale, Renault, BlaBlaCar, Legrand, Air Liquide, Crédit Agricole CIB, Orange, Orpea, Pernod Ricard, Poma, Sanofi, Schneider Electric, etc. Most of these companies will remain active in CCI France Russie after 2022. The chamber's activities demonstrate a strong pro-Russian line and a critical view of sanctions. In particular, in March 2022, the Chamber's Director General Pavel Shinsky gave an interview to BFM Business, where he stated that “not a single French company has left [Russia]” and called the sanctions “counterproductive.” He urged businesses to “continue their activities” in Russia because, according to him, sanctions unite the middle class around the government and threaten democracy. The Chamber regularly attends and organizes events sponsored by the Kremlin, such as the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

The Chamber does not mention direct state funding or official support from Russia. However, there are de facto ties to individuals close to the Russian government. In particular, Emmanuel Kidé, president of CCI France Russie, is an independent director of Novatek (a large gas company co-owned and formerly headed by Putin's close oligarch Gennady Timchenko). Pavel Shinsky is a member of the board of the “Neva Foundation,” a non-profit organization created by Timchenko. Kide has the Order of Friendship of Russia, which was awarded to him by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, and Putin granted him Russian citizenship. Such ties show that the Chamber is indirectly linked to individuals and entities close to the Kremlin, including those under sanctions. Currently, the Chamber president is also actively interacting with various state institutions as a speaker - for example, in April 2025, he gave a lecture to MGIMO students on French-Russian cooperation. French journalist Renaud Gerarde is also actively cooperating with CCI France Russie, who, although he condemned Russia's aggression against Ukraine, calls for a dialogue with Putin “without concessions.”

CLOSED MEETING WITH EMMANUEL KIDE AND GILLES REMY - SUCCESSFUL DIALOG ON CAREER, CULTURE AND COOPERATION

On May 15, Moscow hosted a private meeting with two prominent French entrepreneurs and public figures living in Russia - Emmanuel Kidé, Honorary President of the French Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Gilles Remy, President of CIFAL and founder of RUSAFRIKA!

Russia also uses French politicians to promote its soft power in historical terms. An example of this is Pierre Malinowski, a former French military officer and Le Pen aide who has been living in Moscow since 2017. Analysts at the “Lansing Institute” believe that his activities are designed to strengthen Moscow's ties with France under the guise of historical initiatives, and Malinowski himself is closely connected to the Kremlin - Putin personally granted him Russian citizenship in 2022, and Malinowski attended the last two inaugurations of the Russian “president.” According to the same institute, the organization run by him, “the Foundation for the Development of Franco-Russian Historical Initiatives,” was created with the participation of influential people and structures in Russia. In particular, among the sponsors and partners of the Foundation are large Russian companies and government agencies, namely I. Makhmudov's Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (OMMC), the Ministry of Defense and Culture, the Presidential Administration, etc. According to Lansing Institute experts, the foundation's budget grew significantly in 2021, exceeding 30 million rubles, which, in their opinion, indicates political support from the Russian side, as there is no public information about funds from French or European funds in Malinowski's activities. He is a frequent guest of Russian state TV channels and positions himself as a seeker of an “alternative view” of Russia's role in world history, claiming that he is not an agent of influence, but is only engaged in archeology and preserving the memory of the joint exploits of the French and Russians. The focus in Foundation's activities and media presence is on emphasizing the “fraternity” of the two nations in World War I, Russia's wars with Napoleon, etc. “Le Figaro” wrote about the excavations in the French town of Tours in 2023, which began after Malinowski found an important artifact there. The Frenchman is in close contact with Geoffroy Lejeune, the editor-in-chief of the conservative weekly “Valeurs Actuelles,” which spreads Russian propaganda messages, such as “Russia's undisputed victory.” According to “Le Monde,” the foundation's ties to Russian oligarchs and officials have aroused “suspicion in the country's Foreign Ministry.” Malinowski is also one of the protagonists of the Netflix documentary "Cocaine Air: Smugglers at 30,000 Feet" about the arrest of four people on drug smuggling charges.

The main diaspora media outlet in France is currently the “Russkiy Ochevidets” (an online publication that is published in two languages: Russian and French). In its article about the “Immortal Regiment,” it repeated a number of Russian propaganda clichés about the event. On the website of the publication, one can see many other materials that are synchronized with Russian propaganda, either aggressively or subtly. For example, the main content line of the publication is cultural news that is somehow related to Russia - stories about Russian cultural figures who worked in France, as well as materials about cultural events in the country. Of particular note is the section “Russia Abroad,” which contains all the reports on the main topics of interest to the Russian diaspora in France. In particular, there are letters to grandfathers who fought on the side of the Soviet army in World War II, a report from the conference "80 Years Later: Russia and France in the Victory Camp,“ and material about a ”business forum of Russian-speaking entrepreneurs“ held in France, and the unveiling of a monument to composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in Paris, and even the announcement of the International Children's Art Competition “Moscow in Everyone's Heart”. Nothing about the aggression against Ukraine or with condemnation of Russia for it.

The website “Égalité et Réconciliation” (E&R) was founded in 2007 by French publicist Alain Soral, who presents it as a platform for “national reconciliation” between “leftist labor” and “right-wing values.” However, in practice, it has become known as a hub of far-right ideology, antisemitism, conspiracy theories, and Russian propaganda. Soral has been convicted for inciting hatred and Holocaust denial. His social media accounts have been blocked for spreading disinformation and hate speech, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. The organization has ties to former members of GUD (Groupe Union Défense). E&R actively uses alternative media, such as “Kontre Kulture,” to disseminate its ideas, including documentaries, books, and videos with conspiratorial and anti-Western content. The website regularly publishes materials that support Russian foreign policy and discredit the West, including justifications of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, positive portrayals of Russian military operations, and criticism of the Ukrainian government. For example, the site has interviews with Russian ideologues such as Aleksandr Dugin and republishes content from Russian propaganda outlets like “Sputnik.” Soral himself frequently travels to Russia and speaks at government-organized events, where he personally spreads anti-Western messages. He often accuses NATO and Western media of spreading propaganda and manipulating public opinion, while promoting Russian narratives as an alternative “truth.”

A similar site in terms of content is the website of the “think tank” Stratpol, founded by Xavier Moreau, a former French paratrooper who has lived in Moscow since 2000 and holds dual French and Russian citizenship. In September 2022, he participated as an “observer” in the so-called “referendums” held in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine. In his columns for outlets such as Géopolitique Profonde, Sud Radio, and France-Soir, he promotes pro-Russian rhetoric - specifically about Russia’s progress despite sanctions, the “wisdom” of Putin, and the “inevitability” of Russia’s victory. He authored a book titled “Ukraine: Why Russia Will Inevitably Win?” In early 2024, French intelligence launched an investigation into his ties with Jean-Luc Schaffhauser as part of a case concerning possible Russian interference in EU elections. Moreau had a YouTube channel with over 180,000 subscribers, but it was blocked, and the content was later migrated to alternative platforms. He is also a functionary of the public organization “Vostok France - Solidarité Donbass,” established for “humanitarian missions” in the temporarily occupied territories. According to the NGO’s website, the most recent mission took place in Mariupol in October 2022. According to the investigative portal “Anticor,” Moreau was awarded a medal “For Assistance” by the self-proclaimed “Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPR.” The author Frédéric Serre even dedicated an entire book to him titled “Moreau: The Voice of the Kremlin.” A similar role is played by Alexandre Latsa - a Frenchman who has lived in Moscow for over 17 years and heads an HR consulting firm. In addition, he runs a blog called “Dissonance,” aimed at promoting Russian narratives in Europe. He spreads messages suggesting that Russia “is not giving up and is adapting” to sanctions and therefore is “the future main global player,” arguing that French conservatives should work more closely with Russia.

Nikola Mirković, who has headed the organization “Ouest-Est” since 2014, also spreads Russian propaganda in his role as a publicist. The organization operates not only in the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Ukraine but also across other European countries, promoting a pro-Russian stance on various issues. One of its main areas of activity involves humanitarian missions to the TOT, during which the group conducts interviews with alleged “victims of the fratricidal war,” distributes Russian propaganda materials, and publishes reports about their supposed efforts to restore destroyed infrastructure in these areas. There is also evidence of Mirković’s cooperation with the aforementioned Xavier Moreau - notably, they jointly purchased a car under the pretext of humanitarian needs “for friends from Donbas.” In describing his trips to the occupied territories to various media outlets, Mirković claims that locals “are glad to see Western solidarity” and that “Donbas is an example of the self-destruction of European identity.” The association’s website also focuses heavily on the issue of the Serbian minority in Kosovo, consistently portraying it as oppressed and boasting about its involvement in restoring Orthodox shrines in the territory of a state unrecognized by Ukraine. Members of the organization have also visited the Polish town of Przeworsk and the Romanian city of Bacău to build ties with local youth. The “Ouest-Est” website features multiple commentaries by Mirković on the situation in Ukraine and global affairs, given to both French and Russian media. In these, he claims that countries like Georgia and Romania are allegedly undergoing a “Maidan scenario,” that the Ukrainian army is “doomed to lose,” and that the United States has “dragged [Russia] into the war” - all typical talking points of Russian propaganda. In comments to Sputnik Afrique, he also alleged that “French neo-Nazis” are supposedly fighting on Ukraine’s side. In 2023, Mirković published a book titled “Le Chaos ukrainien” (“The Ukrainian Chaos”), which portrays Ukraine in a discrediting and negative light.

The French citizens have also actively participated in creating separate news agencies to spread Russian propaganda to an international audience. For example, Christelle Neant has been living in the temporarily occupied territories since 2016, and 2018 founded the news agency “Donbass Insider,” which was renamed “International Reporters” in 2023. She has held Russian citizenship since around 2021 and is a well-known voice of pro-Russian journalism. Since autumn 2024, she has hosted a weekly IR-Stream on the “International Reporters” platform, where she acts as an analyst with a pro-Russian bias, specifically criticizing the West and portraying Russia as a defender against the “dictatorship of the West.” In February 2023, she gave an interview to “Sputnik Afrique,” in which she called Western arms supplies to Ukraine a “continuation of the killing of children,” and also claimed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly use civilians as a “human shield,” increasing casualties among the civilian population. Another journalist associated with “Donbass Insider” is the Frenchman Laurent Brayard, about whom “Detector Media” wrote in 2022. Since then, the media figure has continued actively engaging with Russian media - among other things, in comments for “Sputnik Afrique” he claimed that Ukrainian soldiers allegedly deliberately target French journalists in the temporarily occupied territories, and he has echoed other Russian propaganda clichés. He continues to run his Telegram channel, where he publishes materials about “life under shelling” and the suffering of civilians from “Ukrainian aggression.”

This activity is reinforced by the informational work of those French citizens fighting on Russia’s side. Among them is Erwan Castel - a former French soldier who since 2015 has been a volunteer first with the armed forces of the so-called “DPR” and later with Russia. Between 2022 and 2024, he frequently appeared in live streams from the front lines (for example, via Agoravox TV and other platforms), in which he actively criticized the West, the “tsunami of fake news” in Western media about the situation in Ukraine, and called Russians “brothers” who saved him. In addition, he justified his participation in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine by saying that he is “fighting against the American occupation of Europe.”

There is also no shortage of French-speaking new media created by the French themselves, including the YouTube channel “Trouble Fait” (269,000 subscribers with an average of about one hundred thousand views). It was created by Jérôme Balsat in 2015 as an “independent platform for critical analysis of media, politics, and geopolitics.” However, its content takes the form of video broadcasts lasting around forty minutes, in which Jérôme often retransmits messages that align with Russian propaganda, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine. In particular, he calls the war a “freak show,” talks about a “globalist conspiracy” to “discredit Ukraine and Russia,” and classifies the EU’s support for Ukraine as “hysteria.” Materials from the channel have also been published on the website of the aforementioned Soral.

This year’s “Immortal Regiment” was also covered in a one-sided manner by mainstream French media, such as the publication Midi Libre in an article titled “The Soviet Union saved France from Nazi barbarism: a tense pro-Russian speech in Montpellier during the May 8, 1945 ceremony.” The author of the article, Yannick Povillon, describes the confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian protesters at Comédie Square but quotes exclusively pro-Russian activists. For example, he cites Jean Sayad’s statement that “the Russians saved France from Nazi barbarism.” Sayad was outraged that there were no Russian flags at the official commemorative ceremony nearby at that time. Povillon also notes that at some point the pro-Russian activists’ statements got out of control, but he provides no additional context or comments from the Ukrainian demonstrators. Didier Vialla, a representative of “L'Association France-Russie Convergences,” spoke at the event about the “declining West” and “NATO, which is the enemy of the people,” echoing Russian government rhetoric. There is no specific information or social media profiles such as Facebook or VKontakte for either Sayad or Vialla - only sporadic mentions in French media related to their pro-Russian activities.

This is an example of what Ukrainian journalist Alla Lazareva said in an interview with “Detector Media” - that Russian narratives penetrate major media outlets despite journalists’ intentions:

“For example, I see this in the fact that the French press quite actively and frequently quotes Kremlin spokespeople. Knowing that they often lie, the media thus helps them spread these false narratives. Many times, during live broadcasts on French television, I told them that right now they are helping the Kremlin promote its viewpoint. They say ‘no,’ that they object, that there are people who debunk these narratives. Yes, but these debunkings are for a prepared audience that thinks critically and is used to verifying information from multiple sources. For them, this might be an argument - that the Kremlin says one thing, but here’s a journalist from the LCI channel who says otherwise. But not for the average listener or viewer, because they only remember the first message. The Kremlin says it will drop a nuclear bomb on Europe. And everyone is afraid. This, I would say, passive, non-proactive stance toward Kremlin theses - whether from laziness or a certain complacency, since the French live in peace. Now it is also clear that there are certain people who are simply Kremlin sympathizers or agents of influence who absolutely consciously and deliberately promote Kremlin narratives - that Ukraine never existed, that such a culture did not exist, and so on.”

The “Immortal Regiment” not only became the “tip” of the iceberg of Russian influence in France but also serves as an example of how Ukrainian activists within the country try to resist this influence. According to eyewitnesses and participants of the event, one of the counter-rallies consisted of a group of about thirty Ukrainian and French activists standing about twenty meters away from the Russian column. Because any provocation could have led the police to ask them to leave the square, the Ukrainian side did not use loudspeakers and behaved peacefully. In contrast to the participants of the “Regiment,” the counter-protesters displayed only banners and Ukrainian flags. One of the activists nevertheless approached the Russian column too closely and was immediately detained by police officers. When the Russian column initially headed to the House of International Relations for their ceremony, the police formed a cordon between the protesters to prevent clashes. Later, the police completely blocked the pedestrian passage on the street so that the Ukrainians could not follow them further. The “Immortal Regiment” left the square to whistles and shouts of “Shame,” “Murderers,” and “Putin is a d*ckhead.” 

On May 10, one of the activists received a message from Jean Sayad in Russian, in which he called her activities “threatening” and promised to “hold [her] accountable” if she did not stop her pro-Ukrainian activism, even online. She admits that she has not felt safe since receiving this message. “Your war should not be brought to France and disrupt public order,” he wrote. “Is this war really only ‘ours’? Or is it mine personally? Does not Russia take part in it? It seems that this is exactly what the coordinator of the Amitiés Russe association in Montpellier believes. On May 9, he received a commendation from the Russian General Consulate in Marseille for his activities,” the activist says.

At the Saint Lazare cemetery, where Russians came to lay flowers on graves, they were once again met by our small group of Ukrainian protesters. The Russians began threatening that the police would use physical force against them, while activists were filmed on camera. Didier Vialla, head of the association “L'association France-Russie Convergences,” approached one of the protesters closely with a camera and began grabbing his clothes, demanding that he remove his mask. Participants of the march also provoked Ukrainians by shouting “I am proud of Russia.” Upon arrival, the police asked them to leave, arguing that “a cemetery is not a place for demonstrations.” However, they ignored the column of Russians with flags and Russian songs, who remained there in full.

“Each of us found it difficult to remain calm while watching this situation unfold before our eyes on May 8th in the very center of the city. We felt powerless against the Kremlin regime and its supporters, Russian imperialists who seem to have flooded Europe - including through the actions of French authorities, police, and media,” said an activist who was present at the event.

Vice President of the World Congress of Ukrainians, Volodymyr Kogutyak, shared his experience of the counter-protest in Paris on his Facebook page:

“Even before the arrival of the Russian procession at Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Ukrainian activists covered the Russian memorial with photos of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia and left flyers reminding that Russia is a terrorist state.”

Working on this material has shown that Russia manipulates the foundations of the democratic society established in France, and those who aid it often refer in their materials to the fact that France is a “country of human rights,” claiming that their activities supposedly fall under the definition of freedom of speech. Since pro-Russian subversive activities and influence are not criminal offenses under French law, Russian associations manipulate the presumption of innocence even despite publicly available evidence of their ties to the Kremlin. However, the case of the “Immortal Regiment” shows that while Russians can easily exercise their rights, Ukrainians cannot do so as freely. People who are well aware of the context and have confirmed all the facts mentioned in this material also point out that a significant portion, if not all, of the individuals, discussed began their activities in France long before 2022 and continue them, while French institutions do not respond strongly enough to this threat. This issue is especially dangerous for Ukraine considering that a significant number of the figures mentioned either directly work in temporarily occupied territories or assist with the occupation.