Russian media reports claim the SAS is based in the Lviv region of western Ukraine.
Russia is investigating whether sabotage experts from the British Special Air Service (SAS) special forces have been deployed to western Ukraine.
Russia’s top state investigative body said on Saturday it was reviewing a Russian media report claiming the SAS had been sent to the Lviv region of western Ukraine.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted a Russian security source as saying about 20 members of the SAS — an elite force trained in special operations, surveillance and counter-terrorism — operate in the country.
In a statement, the Russian investigative committee said it would investigate the report that the SAS had been dispatched “to assist the Ukrainian special services in organizing sabotage on the territory of Ukraine.”
The British Ministry of Defense initially did not comment on the Russian investigation.
The UK sent military trainers to Ukraine earlier this year to teach local forces how to use anti-tank weapons. On February 17, a week before the Russian invasion, Britain said it had withdrawn all troops except those needed to protect its ambassador.
It was not clear what steps the investigative committee intends to take in response to SAS involvement in Ukraine.
The possible presence of a NATO country’s forces in Ukraine is significant, as Russia has warned the West not to resist its invasion of Ukraine.
“Required Education”
Since the beginning of the war, the United Kingdom has provided Ukraine with anti-ship, anti-aircraft and light anti-tank weapons, which have proved useful in deploying Ukrainian mobile fighters against Russia’s armored vehicles.
The British government confirmed this week that small numbers of Ukrainian troops are being trained in Britain for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion.
Troops began training this month using armored patrol vehicles donated by the UK, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.
The spokesman said Britain, along with its allies, is providing Ukrainian soldiers with new types of equipment that they may not have used before.
“It only makes sense that they get the training they need to get the most out of them,” the spokesman said.
“We are always aware of what is perceived as escalating, but clearly what is escalating is the actions of [Vladimir] Putin’s regime.”
Members of the Ukrainian government visited a military camp on Britain’s Salisbury Plain in April, where they were shown equipment demonstrations followed by discussions on how the government could supply arms.
The British military has been training Ukrainian forces since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. They were withdrawn in February to avoid direct conflict with Russian forces and the possibility of NATO being drawn into the conflict.
The US military is also training Ukrainian troops to use howitzer artillery, while the UK is training Ukrainians in Poland to use anti-aircraft weapons.