File photograph of Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov. Reuters
The commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, whom Ukraine claimed to have killed in a current missile strike, appeared in photographs distributed on Tuesday by Russia’s defence ministry.
Kyiv stated earlier this week it had killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov and 34 officers in an unprecedented strike on the fleet’s naval headquarters within the annexed Crimean peninsula final week.
Sokolov was pictured in army uniform attending through video hyperlink a gathering held on Tuesday and presided by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The defence ministry launched a press release, which didn’t identify 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 a number of instances, with out talking.
The Kremlin instructed reporters moments earlier than the assertion was printed that it had “no information” concerning the standing of the commander and deferred inquiries to the defence ministry.
It had stated on the day of the assault that one serviceman was lacking, after having initially reported that one particular person had been killed.
The strike marked a serious blow for Moscow, which has suffered a string of assaults on the strategically vital port of Sevastopol in current months.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is a key army and logistics hub for Moscow’s army.