MOSCOW 

Russia summoned French ambassador Pierre Levy on Thursday because of the alleged presence of French mercenaries in Ukraine. 

"In connection with the strike of the Russian armed forces at the temporary deployment point of foreign fighters in Kharkov, among whom there were several dozen Frenchmen, the French ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow.

The Defense Ministry said earlier that it carried a strike with high-precision weapons on positions of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine's city of Kharkiv.

"The unit was formed primarily of French mercenaries," it said.

Russia started its “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2023.