Ukraine thanks 'helpful' Russian tourist posing at enemy positions

Ukrainian defence has issued a tongue-in-cheek message of thanks to what it claims to be a Russian tourist posing near Moscow’s military assets.

A picture of a man in swimwear appearing to pose near Russian air defence hardware was posted by Ukraine's official Ministry of Defence Twitter account.

The post claims the man is a tourist visiting a beach in Russian-occupied Crimea, in front of Russian "air defense positions near Yevpatoria".

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"Maybe we are being too hard on Russian tourists… Sometimes they can be really helpful," read the tweet.

"Thank you and keep up the good work!"

Social media minds had posted in support of Ukrainian efforts to geolocate the air defence (AD) capability using the picture of the posing man.

On Sunday evening, the Russian-appointed governor of annexed Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, wrote a warning on the online messenger Telegram to Russian tourists.

He said: "I remind you: try to shoot less photos and do not upload videos of how our AD works. If you are filming or taking pictures, at least don't reference to the area."