Fact Check: Photo Does NOT Show Coffins Of 18 British Special Forces Killed In Ukraine

Does a photograph posted on X genuinely show the coffins of 18 British Special Forces being returning after being they were killed in Ukraine? No, that’s not true: The photo predates the Russia-Ukraine war by over a decade. It was taken in 2006 and shows the coffins of 14 servicemen killed in an air crash in Afghanistan while aboard an RAF C-17 transport plane. The original photo showed British flags in the background — not a Ukrainian flag.

The claim appeared in a post on X on November 2, 2024 (archived here). Text laid over a photo showing coffins read, “18 British Special Forces were killed in Ukraine They were liquidated in the Odessa Region.”

A caption with the post read:

‼️🔥18 members of the British Special Forces have returned home after a “successful” attempt to fight on the side of Kiev.

True, it is hidden with them in wooden crates…

This is how the post appeared on X:

(Source: X screenshot taken Wed Nov 27 16:04:52 2024 UTC)

The photograph predates the Russia-Ukraine war by more than a decade.

BBC published the photograph on September 12, 2006, (archived here) in an article titled, “RAF bodies return home to Kinloss.” The image showed the coffins of 14 servicemen, “killed when an RAF Nimrod crashed in Afghanistan,” when they were returned to the aircraft’s home base at Kinloss in the U.K.

This is how the article appeared in part on the BBC website at the time of writing:

(Source: BBC screenshot taken Mon Nov 27 19:18:31 2024 UTC)

The photograph was also posted to a BBC photo album titled “In Pictures: RAF Kinloss homecoming” (archived here).

This is a side-by-side comparison of the original photo (left) and the version shared on X (right). The latter has been cropped to exclude the British flags in the background and edited to include the Ukrainian flag.

(Source: BBC and X screenshot compilation Wed Nov 27 19:00:41 2024 UTC)

According to the image-hosting website PA Images (archived here), Cpl. Ross Tilly of the British Ministry of Defence captured the photo.

When this was written, Logically Facts and AFP had also debunked this claim.

Other Lead Stories fact checks involving the Russia-Ukraine war can be read here.