Russia's Defense Ministry has pushed back on reports that the commander of its Black Sea Fleet was killed by Ukraine, releasing footage intended to disprove the claim.
Russia's Defense Ministry shared photos and videos on Tuesday of Viktor Sokolov, the commander in question, appearing at a video conference with other Russian military leaders. The person believed to be Sokolov did not say anything during the video, which featured Sergei Shoigu, the minister of defense, who was discussing a drill that he said Russia’s Pacific Fleet completed on Monday.
These were shown on Russian state television, though the footage has not been independently verified and confirmed as authentic.
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On Monday, Ukraine's special forces said it had killed Sokolov, Moscow's top admiral in Crimea, along with more than 30 other officers in a missile attack last week on the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters in Ukrainian-occupied Sevastopol. Ukraine said it was "clarifying the information" following the Russian ministry's release.
Sokolov was shown at a meeting with Shoigu. He connected via video link
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 26, 2023
The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces have said that they are clarifying the data on the death of commander of the #Russian #BlackSeaFleet Viktor Sokolov.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces… https://t.co/ZLCoYHfE6m pic.twitter.com/KwQ1L11254
"As is known, 34 officers were killed as a result of a missile attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Available sources claim that the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was among the dead. Many still have not been identified due to the disparity of body fragments," the special operations forces said in a post on Telegram. "Since the Russians were urgently forced to publish an answer with an apparently alive Sokolov, our units are clarifying the information. This is happening within the procedure for collecting data on the results of the operation."
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If Sokolov was killed, it would represent one of the most significant hits to the Russian navy since Ukraine sunk the Moskva, the flagship of its fleet.
Sokolov, 61, has led the Black Sea Fleet since September 2022 and was the deputy commander of Russia's Northern Fleet, which is one of four naval commands and includes the Black Sea, from 2013 through 2020.