Florent Coury, the first Frenchman to fight in Ukraine, says he wanted to defend “European values” by fighting with Kiev’s forces against the Russian threat.
He decided to follow Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call. Florent Coury, the first Frenchman to fight in Ukraine, explains on BFMTV this Saturday why he chose to defend a country he doesn’t own by saying he wants to defend “European values”. A decision he describes in his book Committed Voluntary, published in early September.
“I felt that there was my place to defend my European values,” explains the forty-year-old father of three.
“In our very unstable world, we are confronted with regimes that claim to be alternatives to our democracy, and today Ukraine is defending all our democracies,” says the human resources manager of an automobile company.
“A meager sacrifice” compared to the Ukrainians
Arriving in Ukraine on March 1, he admits that the announcement of his election was very difficult for those close to him to accept.
“It was extremely violent. It’s obviously something that leaves a mark on my entourage, it leaves a void around you,” he breathes.
“I assume so,” he assures. “It’s a very small sacrifice compared to what Ukrainians are experiencing today,” he says.
“Heroic” Ukrainians
Coming back to his personal story, Florent Coury explained on our set the reasons that led him to go to the front.
“My youthful heroes are the blue helmets in the former Yugoslavia. For me, that’s the first shock of the war in Europe. (…) What’s happening again today with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he says.
He also presented a “political commitment” which is that in his opinion “any war in Europe is a civil war”.
He admired the Ukrainians and praised the “heroic defense” they show in favor of “freedom”.