Contemporary wars, so-called wars of attrition or attrition, on whatever continent they are fought, have one thing in common at some point: a shortage of military personnel.
And so, mercenaries emerge, now with new names; they are employees of PMCs (Private Military Companies). In Russia, WAGNER made history; in the United States, BLACKWATER, both have now changed their names. But amidst this grayness of military engagements, there are a myriad of companies, such as Malhama Tactical, which bring together former jihadists who train other jihadists. The most striking case is that of Syria and the training of HTS, now in government. Then there are the war veterans of those states who, having been discharged and with significant military experience, are highly sought after by PMCs.
The reason is simple: they are capable of using many different types of weapons; sometimes they are pilots specialized in flying military fighters. A hidden world that no one wants to talk about but everyone uses. Also because—to be clear—no politician wants to say to the mothers, wives, husbands, and children of their country: “I express my condolences for your loss.” And while mercenaries working with Russia mostly benefit from direct contracts between states, as in the case of Chechnya and North Korea, things are more complicated for mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, where the rules are more lax.
The story of a French mercenary wounded in Ukraine, told to the French online channel Legend, has caused a stir in recent days. “From a political point of view, everything is complicated,” said Maxime Leconte, responding to a question about the conditions of his repatriation from Ukraine. This French citizen and mercenary, a fighter in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a former member of the French Army’s elite mountain rifle unit, was seriously wounded in July 2023 in the Bakhmut region.
After being hit by an RPG, he remained in a coma for seven days and underwent several operations. After awakening, he attempted to contact his contacts, including the French Embassy in Kiev, to request evacuation and medical care in France. But, he said, his request was rejected. “They fear this will be perceived as an act of involvement in the war,” he said.
In the end, he was left to his own devices and evacuated with the help of “aviation consultant” Xavier Titelman. Titelman confirmed this version of events, agreeing with the mercenary’s account and stating that he helped evacuate three wounded, two of them at his own expense.
Two other French mercenaries, wounded in combat in Ukraine, provided similar accounts of their evacuation. Both criticized the French authorities for their “slowness” and bitterly recalled their relations with Paris.
However, they received assistance from the French Embassy in Ukraine and the French Foreign Ministry’s crisis department, which was specifically tasked with assisting them. A diplomatic source confirmed that the French Foreign Ministry is closely monitoring the French mercenaries and has already helped repatriate several wounded, although “it hasn’t publicly advertised it.”
“On paper, it’s a simple procedure,” Titelman said. When a French citizen is injured, a French hospital must write a letter to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, committing to providing medical care. The ministry then contacts the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to release the mercenary from service and allow him to leave the country.
But in practice, finding a hospital in France without the help of French authorities in initiating the procedure is often a daunting task. Titelman said there have been cases where a wounded mercenary had to search for a hospital in France willing to take him in.
However, Titelman acknowledges the effectiveness of French diplomacy when “the French Embassy in Poland organized a police escort to cross the country as quickly and efficiently as possible” to evacuate the injured person.
Some foreign organizations, mostly English-speaking, are also involved in such evacuations. The French citizen was assisted by one of these NGOs, which paid for the 26-hour ambulance ride to bring him back to France.
Graziella Giangiulio
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