Claim: A clip on French channel LCI said Ukraine deliberately sent false strategic information to US intelligence that was then used by Russian forces.
Verdict: False. The LCI excerpt discussed mistrust and leak concerns; it did not allege deliberate disinformation from Ukraine. Vincent Crouzet confirmed he made no such claim.
A viral social media post misrepresented a short clip from French TV channel LCI. The segment, aired January 16, 2026, discussed growing mistrust between Ukrainian and American intelligence services and France’s expanding role in supplying intelligence to Ukraine. It did not report that Ukraine deliberately fed false strategic information to US agencies.
The extract featured commentator Vincent Crouzet reacting to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that France now provides a large share of Ukraine’s intelligence support. Crouzet said this development underlined a rift between Ukrainian and US intelligence partners and traced the breakdown of trust to an incident on February 28, 2025. He said that, because of concerns about leaks from US sources reaching Moscow, Ukraine’s intelligence chiefs at the time decided to stop sharing certain effective intelligence with American counterparts.
Translated excerpt (verified): ‘‘So this statement went somewhat unnoticed, yet it is crucial… the two heads of Ukrainian intelligence at the time decided to stop sharing the effective intelligence they had with their American partners due to American leaks to Moscow.’’
The LCI segment did not assert that Ukrainian services intentionally sent false information to US agencies or that Ukraine deliberately provided disinformation which Russian forces then acted upon. That specific claim first circulated in social posts that paired a screenshot of the LCI programme with a misleading caption.
Lead Stories reviewed and verified the translation of the French clip. Reporters also contacted Vincent Crouzet, who confirmed by email that he never said Ukraine supplied false intelligence. Crouzet clarified he inferred Kyiv’s decisions were driven by fear of leaks on the US side and cited earlier public reports of leaks as context for those concerns.
The viral claim is inaccurate. The LCI clip discussed a breakdown of trust and a decision by Ukrainian intelligence leaders to limit sharing because of leak fears; it did not report that Ukraine intentionally transmitted false strategic information to US intelligence services.
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