Propagandists are spreading information that Russian aircraft allegedly destroyed a group of British SAS special forces in Odesa. They refer to a tweet by Dutch journalist Sonia van den Ende, where she indicated that “the Russian strike killed 18 British special forces and injured 25 more”. They also refer to similar statements by Russian military expert Valentyn Syvkov. However, this information is not true.

Specialists from the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council drew attention to this. They verified this information in the press service of the Tavria Operational grouping of troops, where they denied the presence of British special forces in Odesa and the event itself. Speaker of the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, also denied this information.

Propagandists spread such fakes in order to support their information campaign about “foreign mercenaries” in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian military, spreading panic and mistrust among the population, as well as justifying Russia’s aggressive actions in the international arena.