luc, CNBC Indonesia
Tuesday, 09/26/2023 05:14 IWST
Photo: Putin orders Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Ukraine claims it killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, along with 33 other officers, in one of Kyiv’s most daring attacks on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine’s military said Friday’s attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet headquarters in Sevastopol coincided with a meeting of naval officials.
“After the attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet, 34 officers were killed, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet, 105 other invaders were injured. The headquarters building could not be restored,” the special forces said via the Telegram messaging application, quoted The GuardianTuesday (26/9/2023).
The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on Ukraine’s claims. Moscow had previously confirmed the Ukrainian attack but said one soldier was missing as a result of the strike.
Over the weekend, Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America that at least nine people were killed and 16 others injured in Friday’s attack. Budanov did not name Sokolov, but claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding troops along the main southeastern front, was “in a very serious condition” after the attack.
Both sides have exaggerated the losses their enemies have suffered since Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine 19 months ago, but often remain silent about their own casualties. Given Sokolov’s seniority, it is unlikely that Moscow could hide his death for long.
Sokolov was appointed as the new commander of the Crimea-based Black Sea fleet in August 2022, reportedly to shore up Crimea’s defenses after the region was first hit by a series of Ukrainian explosions last summer.
He previously held a series of posts in the Pacific and Northern Fleets, and served as deputy commander of the Northern Fleet.
A number of blogger Pro-war Russia on Monday urged the defense ministry to comment on Ukraine’s claims.
“We would like to receive information more quickly… We are all waiting for a simple and clear answer about the commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet,” wrote Sergei Markov, a blogger popular and former Kremlin advisor.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has sharply increased the pace of attacks on Crimea as it seeks to launch a strategic and symbolic offensive against Russian forces that illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014.
Over the weekend, Ukrainian media published footage of Friday’s attack, which showed a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile hitting the roof of the naval headquarters in Sevastopol.
Watch the video below:
Russia-Ukraine Avoid Each Other, This Is the Situation of a UN Meeting!
(luc/luc)
2023-09-25 22:14:41
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