THE Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed today Thursday that the British special forces unit of the Royal Navy of Great Britain (SBS-Special Boat Service) has been operating in Ukraine and assisting Ukrainian forces in conducting operations against Russian forces.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet KGB, said it foiled a plot by British special forces to land Ukrainian saboteur soldiers in Tedrov Split, a sandy beach in Kherson. He mentioned that he had arrested a senior soldier of the Ukrainian naval special forces and gave his name and date of birth.

The FSB said a Ukrainian special forces unit “was under the supervision of an SBS team, indicating Britain’s direct involvement in the conflict”.

Spokesperson for the British Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The SBS is a special forces unit of the British Navy, created in the early days of World War II.

SBS has been involved in some of the biggest conflicts of the last 70 years, including the Korean War, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The war in Ukraine has caused the deepest crisis in Moscow’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. President Vladimir Putin has said that NATO military personnel are already in Ukraine. The US and key European allies have said they have no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine.