Russia says it will look into reports that British SAS have been deployed to western Ukraine – again ratcheting up tensions with the West.
If Vladimir Putin’s forces find that the Special Air Service are operating in the country, that could dramatically escalate the war because Britain is a Nato member.
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quoted a Russian security source this weekend as saying about 20 members of the elite fighting unit had been sent to the Lviv region.
Independent observers have long ago come to view Russian claims about the war with severe scepticism, but the UK did not deny that its forces were there.
Instead, a spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence said: ‘We do not comment on Special Forces.’
Britain sent military trainers to Ukraine earlier this year to instruct local forces in using anti-tank weapons.
But on February 17, a week before the invasion, the British government said that it had pulled out all troops except those needed to protect its ambassador.
Russia’s top state investigative body said on Saturday it would look into the Russian media report, which alleged that sabotage experts from the SAS were operating in the war.
The SAS is a secretive but elite military unit trained to conduct special operations, surveillance and counter-terrorism – and has been used in previous wars.
In a statement, the Investigative Committee said it would follow up the report that they had been sent in ‘to assist the Ukrainian special services in organising sabotage on the territory of Ukraine’.
Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, the country has suffered widespread damages and loss of life amid a major bombing campaign.
Millions of people have fled the country, with thousands of British people opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees.
During the course of the war, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained in Kyiv, despite the Ukrainian capital being subjected to a barrage of bombing.
Zelensky has continuously pushed for aid and support from world leaders, as well as pressing for fast-tracked NATO membership.
Meanwhile, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has been widely condemned for his attack on Ukraine.
His actions have been met by harsh economic sanctions, bans from competing in major sporting events, and countries moving away from using Russian oil.
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It is not clear what steps the Investigative Committee would take if it claims to have found any SAS involvement in Ukraine.
But the investigation itself is significant, given that Russia has issued warnings to the West not to get in the way of its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.
Putin’s forces have also previously used ‘false flag’ operations as a way of justifying new offensives.
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