False claims that Russia captured three British officers in Ukraine and that NATO is actively waging a war against Moscow can be traced back to multiple fringe sources.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

A claim circulating online alleges that Russian special forces captured two British colonels and an intelligence agent working for NATO in Ochakiv, southern Ukraine. The story, traced to fringe platforms and pro-Russian sources, is unsupported by any credible evidence. 

Investigations found that the image accompanying the claim is AI-generated, with distorted and illegible details. NATO officials have dismissed the narrative as false, and there is no substantiated proof that NATO officers have been captured or are actively waging war against Russia in Ukraine.

Fact check: No evidence Russia captured NATO officers in Ukraine

There's no evidence Russia captured NATO officers in Ukraine. A claim is spreading online that Russian special forces captured two British colonels and a secret intelligence services agent while they were on a mission for NATO in Ochakiv in southern Ukraine. According to the narrative, the British army officers and the unnamed agent were supposedly operating undercover, with Russia labelling them illegal combatants and the UK allegedly claiming that they were tourists interested in history who ended up in Ochakiv by accident. In some cases the story is shared with an alleged image of the men and social media users around Europe urged the media to investigate the matter. We traced the story to a number of fringe platforms including the Pravda disinformation network, a French language pro-Russian telegram channel and a website called Core Insights which says it's a risk advisory and cyber security company. They all posted the story on the 2nd of August with the Core Insights blog post stating that this is the first real-life proof that NATO itself is actively waging war against Russia. However there's absolutely no evidence that any of this is the case and plenty to suggest that the narrative is part of wider pro-Russian anti-western propaganda. While the Pravda network and pro-Russian telegram channels are established unreliable sources, a scan of the rest of Core Insights blog posts shows many that parrot reporting by Russian state-controlled news and others that mirror Kremlin-aligned narratives. The image of the two colonels is clearly AI generated, not least due to their passports which appear distorted with the text illegible and the British coat of arms mangled. A NATO official told EuroVerify that the claim that the alliance is engaged in a war against Russia is bogus and detached from reality. Ultimately there's no proof for the common pro-Kremlin line that NATO is actively engaging in Russia's war in Ukraine.

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Fact check: No evidence Russia captured NATO officers in Ukraine

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Ukraine Invasion