The commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, died in Ukraine’s barrage on occupied Crimea final week, Kyiv mentioned Monday.
“After the defeat of the headquarters of the Russian armed forces, 34 officers died, together with the commander of the Russian armed forces. One other 105 occupiers had been wounded. The headquarters constructing can’t be restored,” Ukraine’s particular operations forces mentioned Monday.
In an preliminary assertion after the assault, the Russian protection ministry mentioned it had shot down 5 incoming missiles and just one serviceman was killed, although the fleet’s headquarters had been broken.
However rumors about Sokolov’s loss of life circulated on-line and Ukraine jumped Monday on the probability to verify the hypothesis. POLITICO has not independently verified the claims.
The assault was the most recent in Ukraine’s quest to liberate occupied Crimea, which Russian President Vladimir Putin seized in 2014. Two weeks in the past, Ukraine wrecked a Russian submarine within the port of Sevastopol and likewise regained management of strategically vital oil and gasoline drilling platforms situated within the Black Sea.
