2025 – What I Saw In Ukraine – 2015-2022 – Diary of an International Observer – Benoît Paré
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BOOK
The book is not a political pamphlet but a sober, fact-rich record of a man who was on the ground for seven years and knew both sides. The tone grows increasingly angry over the years – not towards the Ukrainian population, but towards his own institution and the West, which in his view deliberately ignored the truth. It is a unique document because practically no other Western observer was active for so long on both sides and reported openly about it. The years of frontline experience, combined with his military precision and uncompromising rejection of a Manichean, black-and-white narrative, make his book one of the most important and authentic testimonies of the Donbas war.
Review
Published by Amazon in “reviews” of the book:
“I strongly recommend this account, based on FACTS, by a French member of his Nations armed forces. In particular, for anyone doubtful, the Redline Memo of 5/23/2019 issued Internally sponsored by US/NATO, e g. USAID.
Precise because he is an EXPERIENCED observer with both Civilian (i.e. Human Rights facility as well as Military) and was in place in BOTH sides of the conflict line for 7 years tracking & formally Reporting after databasing deaths during that period – of which ONLY those with 3x Verification were “Reportable”, analysing and reviewing Civil ans Military Reports – interacted with the Jurisprudence of Ukraine in his capacity as well as the UN & participated along with his professional peers in Ukraine to delegates in order to round out ground observations to a host of Nations including his own – involved in the Minsk Agreements. Many aspects of his direct experiences became clearer subsequently (for example who crossed the Border!) given their relative position geographically.”
BENOIT PARÉ
Benoît Paré is a former French Army reserve officer, analyst at the Ministry of Defence, and long-time international official. He was deployed eight times to crisis zones: the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Pakistan, as well as – for many years – to Ukraine.
From 2015 to 2022, he worked as an unarmed civilian observer for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in the Donbas, making him one of the very few Western observers deployed for extended periods on both sides of the contact line. Due to what he perceived as a systematic pro-Ukrainian bias of the mission, he eventually resigned.
In 2025, he published his first book “Ce que j’ai vu en Ukraine: 2015–2022 – Journal d’un observateur international” (Self-published, TheBookEdition), in which, based on his diary entries, he unsparingly documents the OSCE’s one-sided reporting, the sabotage of the Minsk agreements by Ukraine, and the predominantly Ukrainian responsibility for civilian casualties in the Donbas.
Paré is highly regarded in sovereigntist and war-critical circles (Front Populaire, TV Libertés, Neutrality Studies, France Soir) and is considered one of the most authentic Western witness voices on the Donbas war before 2022.
Details on Benoît Paré’s OSCE Missions in Ukraine (2015–2022)
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM) was deployed on 21 March 2014 and operated until 31 March 2022 (terminated by a Russian veto against the mandate renewal). It comprised up to 1,300 unarmed international observers tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons, the humanitarian situation, and human rights across the Donbas, with a special focus on the approximately 500 km-long contact line.
From: LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/benoît-paré-what-i-saw-ukraine-20152022-diary-observer-reto-zogg-anyke
YT Playlist with discussions and interviews about his book: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDsR5P9Lkw3PXjEmQZvSSNg4iJQMwHFog
