PARIS, March 19. /TASS/. The French Defense Ministry denies the information about the presence of French troops in Ukraine and about Paris’ readiness to send 2,000 troops to this country, voiced by Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia Sergey Naryshkin.

The ministry claimed that this report is a "part of systematic use of mass disinformation."

"We call for maximum vigilance," says the statement, published on the X platform.

Previously, Naryshkin said that France already prepares a military contingent to send to Ukraine; initially, this contingent will include about 2,000 troops. Meanwhile, French troops are already present in Ukraine unofficially, he said, adding that some of them have already been killed and injured. The head of the Russian intelligence stated that the French Defense Ministry unofficially admit the loss of troops, adding that the French Army has not dealt with such casualties since the Algerian war. According to Naryshkin, the Elysee Palace believes that the number of killed French troops "has exceeded a psychologically important threshold," and Paris is currently considering how to secretly bury the dead and treat the injured without provoking mass protests.

Previously, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out an option of sending ground troops to the special operation area. He also said that Western states "intend to do everything it takes" to prevent Russia from winning this conflict. Speaking in his interview for Le Parisien, published on March 17, Macron claimed that a ground operation may become necessary at some point in order to counter Russian troops in Ukraine.