The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters to confirm or deny that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia's most senior navy officers, had been killed.
Moscow-installed authorities in Sevastopol, however, were taking extra measures to address Ukraine's increased attacks on Crimea, a critical region providing a platform from which Russia has launched many of its air attacks on Ukraine in the 19-month-long war.
If confirmed, Sokolov's killing would be one of Kyiv's most significant strikes on Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
"After the strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Another 105 occupiers were wounded. The headquarters building cannot be restored," Ukraine's special forces said on the Telegram messaging app.
The Russians offered a video of an online meeting that Sokolov was in, supposedly after the strike, but there was no proof of the date of the meeting.
It would be one hell of a coincidence if the Ukrainians hit the headquarters when a top-level staff meeting was going on. But it may not have been a coincidence.
He blowed up real good
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHkvD7-u7y8
Would love to hear Ukraine announce, Nope it wasn't us.
ReplyDeleteOne thing about relocating the brass to a nice safe bunker: no windows to get pushed out of.
ReplyDelete