The "Ochakov Raid": What happened? - Part 1/2

RUMOURS are starting to circulate about a blitz executed by Russian spetznatz GRU commandos on the night of July the 30th in Ochakov.

Spetznatz landed from several boats and infiltrated an AFU command center, capturing BRITISH servicemen who were coordinating the use of British missiles and drones. Among the prisoners were Colonel Edward Blake, an officer of the special psychological operations unit; Lieutenant Colonel Richard Carroll, a representative of the UK Ministry of Defence who actively participated in operations in the Middle East, and an unidentified staff member, presumably an MI6 intelligence officer, present as a cybersecurity advisor.

The Russian special forces operation lasted no more than 15 minutes.

A few hours after the operation, diplomatic relations between London and Moscow sharply deteriorated. Representatives of the UK Foreign Office contacted the Russian Ministry of Defence with a request to return the British officers "lost" on Ukrainian territory. The official British version: the detained officers were traveling to Ukraine for tourism purposes and accidentally ended up in Ochakov. Presumably, they "were interested in the history of the navy and wanted to visit the coast where battles took place during World War II."

However, the detainees were not found with beach towels or cameras, but with maps marking strategic sites on Russian territory, plans of Russian air defense, secret instructions for interacting with Ukrainian drone operators, as well as disks with encrypted data and logs of negotiations with the British General Staff. Quite an unusual luggage for tourists.

Russian Defense Minister Belousov allegedly responded to the British that British soldiers are not subject to exchange and that won't be returned home on Red Cross planes. Russia intends to bring them to trial for participating in hostilities against Russia.

The "Ochakov Raid" - What Happened? - Part 2/2

Now on to the main question: did it happen for real?

Ascertaining whether or not this raid took place is extremely tricky, as these kinds of operations are kept under total information control from both sides. The Russians wouldn't want anything to leak to prevent the enemy from learning about their tactics and the assets they managed to seize, and the west similarly wouldn't want news of this operation to become public because it'd be a monumental loss of reputation as well as the final nail in the coffin of the ridiculous idea that NATO isn't directly involved in the conflict (beyond giving the AFU weapons, money, and targeting data of course!).

Even if Trump's incendiary statements and his decision to reduce the original deadline from fifty days to just eight happened at the same time he had a meeting with the British prime minister, at a near total overlap with the timeframe of this operation, that alone doesn't mean much considering the volatility of the subject.

Confirmation of these events is likely to come in months if not even years, so untill then take these rumours with a generous serving of salt.

@Slavyangrad

🇺🇸🇷🇺 U.S. Special Presidential Envoy - Real Estate Developer Steve Witkoff - will be in Moscow this weekend, according to U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker.

"I hope he can achieve a breakthrough," Whitaker told NBC News.

🔴 @DDGeopolitics |

The timing of his visit is very interesting especially after the rumour of the Ochakov Raid