War in Ukraine: Who are the two French aid workers killed in the Russian strike?

“An act of Russian barbarism.” On Friday, France confirmed that two French people had been killed and three wounded in southern Ukraine. Le Parisien summarizes the first known events surrounding these deaths.

Two Frenchmen killed in Russian strike in Berislav in southern Ukraine were both ‘humanitarians’, according to report message about from the head of diplomacy, Stéphane Séjournet. “Two French humanitarian workers paid with their lives for their devotion to the Ukrainians. Three were wounded,” the minister said, adding that “Russia will have to answer for its crimes.” The head of state, in turn, condemned X, calling him a “cowardly and undignified act.” “My solidarity is with all the volunteers who strive to help the population,” continued Emmanuel Macron.

Two members of a Swiss Protestant NGO

What do we know about these French? According to former military pilot and defense consultant Xavier Titelmann, the two men were “members of a Swiss religious association who had come to do humanitarian work.” They were both members of the Swiss Protestant organization Entraide, known by its German acronym EPER, the consultant told Le Parisien. The attack they suffered was carried out “by a Russian kamikaze drone while they were in their car, on the right bank of the Dnieper, in Berislav,” Xavier Titelman said.

So far, the Protestant NGO EPER has confirmed the death of two of its frontline workers in Ukraine, but without specifying their nationality. “A group of collaborators was attacked (…) during a humanitarian intervention. In this case, two respected team colleagues tragically lost their lives and other employees were injured,” the NGO said in a press release.

Two volunteers died as a result of an “enemy strike”

The death of two Frenchmen was announced on Thursday evening in Telegram by the governor of the Kherson region, Alexander Prokudin. “Foreign volunteers were killed and injured due to the enemy’s attack on Berislav,” he wrote on the social network.

“The Russian army killed two French citizens. Three more 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 came to the Kherson region as volunteers,” the Ukrainian police said. An investigation into violations of the laws of war has been launched. The city of Berislav, which had a population of about 12 thousand before the war, is located on the northern bank of the Dnieper River, not far from the front line.

Following Emmanuel Macron, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky congratulated him. X in memory of the “courageous French humanists” who “provided assistance to the population.” “Russian terror knows neither borders nor nationalities of victims,” he further emphasized.