The commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Adm. Viktor Sokolov appeared in photographs and movies distributed on Tuesday by Russia’s Defense Ministry, a day after Ukraine claimed to have killed him in a latest missile strike.
Kyiv stated earlier this week it had killed Adm. Sokolov together with 34 officers in an unprecedented strike on the fleet’s naval headquarters within the annexed Crimean peninsula final week.
“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 particular forces stated on the Telegram messaging app.
However, Sokolov was pictured in army uniform attending by way of video hyperlink a gathering held Tuesday and presided over by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The Defense Ministry launched an announcement, which didn’t title Sokolov, saying the assembly had taken place earlier within the day.
In an eight-minute video distributed later by the ministry, Sokolov seems on display screen a number of occasions, with out talking.
The Kremlin informed reporters moments earlier than the assertion was revealed that it had “no information” concerning the standing of the commander and deferred inquiries to the Defense Ministry.
It had stated on the day of the assault that one serviceman was lacking, after having initially reported that one individual had been killed.
The strike marked a significant blow for Moscow, which has suffered a string of assaults on the strategically essential port of Sevastopol in latest months.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is a key army and logistics hub for Moscow’s army.
Source: www.dailysabah.com