Ukraine alleges that the commander of Vladimir Putin’s feared Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, has been killed in an attack on Crimea.
This strike is said to have resulted in the deaths of 34 officers, including Sokolov, as Storm Shadow missiles targeted the fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol.
Putin had personally selected Sokolov to lead efforts in restoring the fleet’s prestige following the loss of their flagship, Moskva, to Ukrainian Neptune missiles the previous year.
On Friday, disturbing footage captured black smoke billowing from the building in Crimea, an area annexed by Putin in 2014 in violation of international law, following a missile attack, the Daily Sun reported.
Subsequently, a second strike occurred on Saturday, with video footage capturing the moment a Storm Shadow missile, supplied by Britain, struck the already-burning structure in Sevastopol.
According to the special operations force of the Ukrainian army in Kyiv, these strikes inflicted injuries on 105 individuals within the fleet and resulted in the deaths of 34 personnel.
They also asserted that the headquarters building is beyond repair.
In May, Britain had agreed to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles as part of their commitment to bolstering the provision of long-range weaponry to the country.
Written by staff
B.C. Begley 