File:Allegedly British in Niklaev.jpg

Summary

 * British SO /Marines in Nikolaev/Ochakov?

A story copy-pasted in Russian sources tells about Ukrainian translator Irina who posted some photos with her romantic interest, communications specialist Andrey Melnichuk and accidentally exposing "two British majors", part of a larger group, present under cover under a pretext of military maneuvers, in Nikolaev (or more likely in Ochakov, site of Ukrainian center of naval special operations. Names of British military are provided in the story; (those names cannot be easily verified. Allegedly they are based at Sigonella NATO/US military base, Italy, and "have expertise as saboteurs" -becoming less believable as the story prgresses).

This photo is in some of those reports. It is not sign-posted so it is uncertain what is being alleged. It appears to show some British military. Man in the center has epaulet on his chest (apparently with a crown on top); there are some photos of Royal Marines with look-alike epaulets and uniforms. It appears that two men on both sides from him may have a small British flag icon on shoulder, but it is not clearly visible at this low photo resolution. More importantly, it is unclear where, when, in what circumstances this photo is taken; it does not appear to be the photo posted by "Irina" on social media as described in the story, or there is no guarantee that it is that photo.

The story goes on to tell that British military was there to try to prevent Vladimir Gorbenko, captain of a Russian, Crimea-based fishing boat "Nord" (captured by Ukraine in March 2018)  from escaping. Gorbenko was charged by Ukraine and was living with relatives in Ukraine, under personal obligation to appear at court hearings. He disappeared around 26 January 2019 (according to his attorney), in Melitopol, Zaporozhskiy region, to reappear in Russia around 4 February, 2019.

It does not appear likely that British have anything to do with looking for Gorbenko; they would not be well-equipped for such a task, and Gorbenko was not detained or guarded, apparently as he was not of a particularly high value.

The story may be partially propaganda, aimed to highlight Western backing for Ukraine, but also may have some true elements; the exact mix of truth and fiction is not very clear. --Resup (talk) 22:36, 15 February 2019 (UTC)