Inès Zeghloul and Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: VIRGINIE NGUYEN HOANG / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
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8:16 p.m., February 2, 2024
Europe 1 was able to speak with the son of one of the two French humanitarian workers killed after a Russian bombing in southern Ukraine. He pays tribute to the bravery of his father, a former member of the foreign legion, and wants to put an end to certain rumors about him.
He was a volunteer with Entraide protestante Suisse, an NGO that provides aid to victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts. Like the one who is ravaging Ukraine, since the Russian invasion in February 2022. It is in the south of the country, in the Kherson region, that this French humanitarian was located, before losing his life, killed by a Russian strike. Europe 1 was able to speak with his son, Christopher, who recounts, not without emotion, the limitless courage of his father, whose memory he wants to “honor”.
It was during the night that the terrible news reached him. “I was woken up by my grandmother who said to me, ‘Dad is dead’. Those are the words I remember,” he says. Christopher now intends to put an end to certain rumors. “I want to contradict a lot of things that have been said in the news. No, he was not a mercenary. He is someone who fought for France for the majority of his life.” According to information from Europe 1, this humanitarian, of Russian origin, was a former member of the Foreign Legion. This veteran of theaters of war has notably been deployed in Chad and Afghanistan.
“I don’t think he died unhappy.”
A military medal was even awarded to him three years ago. “He wanted to end his career by serving noble causes, by helping, for example, people in need. He was a respectable, frank person, who always gave everything for others.” When Moscow launches its offensive in Ukraine, Christopher’s father decides to join the ranks of this Swiss NGO, within which he uses his military experience to ensure the security of convoys intended for Ukrainian civilians.
A country which was not foreign to him since it was in Ukraine that he carried out his military service, during the time of the USSR. Very disturbed at the end of the exchange, Christopher wants to believe that it was with a feeling of accomplished duty that his father passed away. “I don’t think he died unhappy. Because he did what he wanted in his life.”