Claims have spread online that Russian special forces captured two British colonels and a service agent for the secret intelligence agency while participating in NATO missions in Ochakiv, southern Ukraine.
According to the false story, Lt. Col. Richard Carroll, Col. Edward Blake, and an unknown MI6 agent probably conducted a secret investigation, with Russia labeling them “illegal combatants.” The UK is said to have claimed that they were tourists interested in the history of the incidental that led them to Ochakiff.
In some cases, the story is shared with the supposed image of a man. Social media users around Europe encourage the media to investigate the issue.
Euroverify traced the story to several fringe platforms. Pravda Deolformation Network – A website called Core Insights, which says it is a pro-Russian telegram channel in French and is a risk advisory and cybersecurity company.
They all posted their stories on August 2nd, saying in a Core Insights blog post, “This is evidence of the first reality that NATO itself is actively at war with Russia.”
However, there is no evidence that either of these is true, and there is much to suggest that the story is part of broader pro-Russian anti-Western propaganda.
While the Pravda network and Pro-Russia telegram channels are established, unreliable sources, scans of Core Insights’ remaining blog posts show many others who reflected an unparalleled narrative in Kremlin, including reports of parrots by Russian state controlled news.
For example, she shares a post based on an article on the Russian state-controlled news network RT about the Ukrainian plot to assassinate Russian defense industry leaders, and another article about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who says it demonstrates that Ukraine is “a borderline savage.”
Many articles, including those on British soldiers, are also attributed to “Hal Turner,” who shares the names of extremist white-fitting US commentators. This Halturner is known for spreading hoaxes and conspiracy theories. This means that if he actually makes a post, its reliability will be significantly reduced.
The tone of the post regarding British officers is also clearly very biased. “The British are caught, they’re redheaded, and their impact on the UK and NATO as a whole is now very bad,” it says, for example.
“The British had gallbladders to tell the Russians that men were interested in naval history and wanted to visit the coast where the battle was fought during World War II,” another example.
The image of the two colonels clearly generates AI, especially because of the passport, as the text appears to be broken and the British coat of arms of arms of the text appears to be broken.
Even other fringe sites, such as the Norwegian website Steigan.No, an established vector for Russian propaganda, have removed articles that have repeated the story because they are “inadequate” to “check the facts.”
There was no official announcement from the UK government on the issue, nor was there any report from well-known media outlets.
NATO officials told Euroverify that the alliance was engaged in a war with Russia was “fake” and “separated from reality.”
“Our position is clear and consistent,” the official said. “Russia has been fighting a full-scale war of invasion against Ukraine for over three years. The Russian war was made possible by North Korean forces, arms and ammunition, Iranian drones and missiles, and China’s double-use technology. These countries are strengthening political and economic ties.”
“NATO supports Ukraine’s right to self-defense, as enshrined in the UN Charter,” the official continued. “The Allies have provided unprecedented military aid to Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion. The best way to end the war and ensure a fair and lasting peace is to ensure that Ukraine enters negotiations from the status of strength.”
Ultimately, there is no evidence of the general Prokremlin line that NATO is actively involved in Russian wars in Ukraine.
