Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander Reported Killed Is Alive, Russian Media Claims

Russian media reported Tuesday that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, reported to have been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Headquarters in Sevastopol, is alive and well.

RIA Novosti showed Sokolov appearing via videolink in a meeting in Moscow on Sept. 26.

News of Sokolov’s survival could not be independently confirmed, however he appeared in a video distributed by the Russian news outlet.

“At the moment, we don’t comment,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of Security Service of Ukraine told Kyiv Post Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) had announced on Telegram that Sokolov along with 34 other officers had been killed in a missile strike on Russia’s Black Sea Headquarters in Russian-annexed Crimea on Sept. 22.

The Kremlin had told reporters moments before the ministry's statement that it had "no information" regarding the status of the commander and deferred questions to the defence ministry.

Later on Tuesday, Ukrainian special forces said they were "clarifying" details of the strike last week. "Many (killed officers) have not yet been identified because the body parts were scattered," they said.

"Since the Russians were urgently forced to publish a response with Sokolov allegedly alive, our units are clarifying information," it added.

In April 2022, Sokolov, 61, was handpicked by Putin after the loss of the Moskva flagship to Ukrainian missiles.

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Whether news of Sokolov’s survival is accurate or not, Ukraine has recently dealt a series of devastating blows on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

• Sept. 13, Kyiv launched a missile attack on a shipbuilding plant in occupied Crimea, destroying several strategic ships for Russia.
• Sept. 19, Ukrainian naval information platforms reported that the last submarine of the most potent attack element of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet set sail from Crimea’s Sevastopol port.
• Sept. 20, just two days prior to the missile attack thought to have killed Sokolov, Kyiv struck another Russian Black Sea Fleet command post with a missile attack.

Despite Russian threats to attack boats traveling to or from Ukraine, a second wheat shipment laden with 17,600 tons of wheat left the Ukrainian port city of Chornomorsk on Sept. 22 and was bound for Istanbul.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated a ship carrying grain arrived in Chornomorsk on Sept 22. It actually left Chornomorsk on Sept 22.