CLAIM: Russian forces captured British officers during a raid on a Ukrainian base in the Black Sea.
VERDICT: The claim originated from a Substack post on July 26, 2025, which used AI-generated video and images to falsely depict two “British officers”, captured by Russian soldiers. It was later amplified through the Pravda/Portal Kombat disinformation network, as well as other unreliable media outlets and social media posts, without any evidence whatsoever. The claim lacks any documentation or credibility and is false.
The alleged capture of British officers, Colonel Edward Blake, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Caroll, and an unnamed MI6 cybersecurity advisor, by Russian special forces in Ochakiv, in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, began circulating on July 26. According to these claims, the British officers were caught during an operation named “Skat-12” while assisting Ukrainian armed forces in guiding missiles and drones and carrying out cyberattacks.
The claim appeared in a post on the Substack of “Dr.” Ignacy Nowopolski, a self-proclaimed political commentator who publishes opinion articles focused on the war in Ukraine, NATO, and international geopolitics. His writings frequently adopt pro-Russian, anti-Western, and anti-scientific rhetoric, as well as conspiratorial analysis. Nowopolski accompanied his post with a video, posted on YouTube on July 26, 2025, that allegedly shows the two British officers.
However, the video and images in it were generated using artificial intelligence and are fake — something easily identified with tools like HIVE AI and through simple observation. For instance, the “officer’s” cap on the left lacks a visor:
Subsequently, the claim spread further through posts by anonymous accounts, first on Telegram (e.g., Милитарист), then on Russian websites like gazeta.ru and info24.ru, and eventually through the Pravda/Portal Kombat disinformation network across various countries and languages — including news-pravda.com, uk.news-pravda.com, poland.news-pravda.com, au.news-pravda.com, france.news-pravda.com, and francais.news-pravda.com — as well as through EADaily, a site known for reproducing pro-Kremlin propaganda. The “news” also infiltrated Croatian (index.hr), Serbian (b92.net), and French (reseauinternational.net) websites, and was even echoed by far-right conspiracy radio host Hal Turner.
AI generated image used by the Pravda/Portal Kombat network:
The claim went viral on social media:
However, no Western news outlet — such as BBC, Reuters, or The Guardian — has reported on the incident, and the British government has not publicly acknowledged the capture of active-duty officers, which would be a significant escalation if true. Moreover, no real photos of the “captives” have surfaced. The claim is part of a broader pattern of disinformation rhetoric about Western/NATO troops allegedly fighting alongside Ukraine. We have addressed similar claims in the past (here and here).
In conclusion, the claim originated from a Substack post on July 26, 2025, that used AI-generated video and images to falsely depict the two “British officers.” It was later amplified through the Pravda/Portal Kombat disinformation network and other unreliable outlets and social media posts, without a shred of evidence. Therefore, the claim lacks any documentation or credibility.