Russia recently unveiled further proof that the commander of the Black Sea Fleet is alive, countering claims by Ukrainian officials that the military official had been killed in a missile attack in Crimea.
Admiral Viktor Sokolov apparently appeared in a video released Wednesday showing him handing out medals to members of a Russian military soccer team. The new video comes only a day after separate footage showed him participating in a video conference call with the Russian defense minister and other high-level military officers.
After handing out the awards, Sokolov was apparently asked by journalists in Sevastopol to respond to Ukrainian claims that he was killed in the attack.
“What happened to us? Nothing happened to us,” Sokolov responded, according to the Associated Press. “Life goes on. The Black Sea Fleet confidently and successfully carries out the tasks assigned to it by the command. Surface forces, submarine forces, naval aviation, and coastal troops are successfully completing tasks.”
Although Western media outlets, including CNN, have qualified in their reports that they cannot confirm the dates of the videos, Ukraine’s special forces — who had been the source of the claim that Sokolov had been among 34 Russians killed in the strike — appeared to back away from the claim.
According to BBC News, Ukrainian officials are now attributing the claim that Sokolov had died to “open sources” on the internet.
“As it 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,” Ukraine’s special forces said in a statement, per the BBC. “Many [bodies] still have not been identified due to the condition of the body parts.”
On September 22, Ukraine claimed it had hit the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in occupied Crimea using a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile. It was the latest in a series of attacks on military assets deep inside Ukrainian territory held by Russian forces.
However, the efficacy of the strikes has been disputed by the two warring sides. Each is fully aware of the propaganda value in framing high-profile engagements to favor the public message they want to be sent. Ukraine claimed it is inflicting maximum damage with the longer-range weapons it recently received. Meanwhile, Russia has downplayed such attacks as signs of desperation.
Though the attack put a massive hole in the main building of the headquarters, Russia only acknowledged that one service member may have died, per the AP.
Russia also claimed the attack by Ukraine was closely guided by the United States and Great Britain.
“There is no doubt that the attack had been planned in advance using Western intelligence means, NATO satellite assets, and reconnaissance planes and was implemented upon the advice of American and British security agencies and in close coordination with them,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.
Had Sokolov died in the attack, it would have been a significant development, as he would have been the first Russian admiral killed in combat since World War II, according to retired former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO James Stavridis.
