Frenchman Ernesto Barbieri is alive and well. In a comment for StopFake, he said that he left the territory of Ukraine a year ago.
In May 2024, Kremlin media and some netizens began spreading information that Ernesto Barbieri, the «best sniper« from France, had allegedly been killed in Ukraine. Propaganda writes that the soldier died as a result of a Russian missile strike on Kharkiv.
«Ernesto Barbieri, who is considered the best sniper in France, was killed in a missile attack on a foreign mercenary deployment point in Kharkiv. Barbieri served in Chasseurs Alpins, an elite alpine infantry force and later joined the so-called International Legion of the Ukrainian Army. As part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the officer took part in hostilities against Russian troops from March 2022,» users write.
StopFake checked whether the former French serviceman Ernesto Barbieri was indeed «liquidated» in Ukraine. As expected, this «news» is not true.
A former French soldier named Ernesto Barbieri does exist, and he has indeed been to Ukraine. He has a YouTube channel called Ervesto77. On this channel, the Frenchman posted videos of himself in uniform and with weapons on the territory of Ukraine. The French TV channel France 2 also made a short report about him at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in March 2022. It said that the Frenchman had voluntarily come to Ukraine to «fight the Russian invasion». Barbieri also posted this video on his YouTube channel.
The aforementioned Ervesto77 channel also has two links to Barbieri’s personal Instagram and TikTok profiles. As of 17 May, both were inactive or deleted. However, on Instagram, if you search for «Ernesto “SHARKY”» (the name Barbieri left on his YouTube channel), you will find a closed profile with a person who looks like Barbieri – «Ernesto “SHARKY” BARBIERI». StopFake journalists contacted him and asked if he was indeed the same Frenchman Ernesto Barbieri who was in Ukraine. They also asked him to comment on the Russian «news». According to the soldier, he is fine and had left Ukraine a year ago.
The fact that the Instagram profile really belongs to a Frenchman, Ernesto Barbieri, is evidenced by the many photos he has posted, including from Ukraine. Since the profile is not public, StopFake only publishes an edited screenshot of his personal page on the social network.
According to the propaganda, this is not the first time Ernesto Barbieri has been «killed» in Ukraine. Propagandists wrote about his «liquidation» back in January 2024. At that time, Russian media, attaching a photo of Ernesto Barbieri, also reported that the «best sniper from France» had been killed – and also as a result of a missile strike on Kharkiv.
Earlier, StopFake debunked a fake photo by Russian propaganda that allegedly proved that «British soldiers in coffins» were returning home from the war in Ukraine.
