Russian Black Sea Fleet commander killed in Sevastopol strike

By Alexander Khrebet, KYIV Ukraine

The Russian Black Sea Fleet commander was killed along with 33 other officers in a Sept. 22 strike on the fleet's headquarters in occupied Sevastopol, southwest Crimea, Ukraine's military said.

Dense black smoke rises above the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in occupied Sevastopol, southwestern Crimea, following the Ukrainian missile strike on Sept. 22. 

Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the Russian Black Sea Fleet commander, was among those killed in the missile strike that also injured 105 Russian soldiers and left the headquarters building in ruins, according to Ukraine's Special Operation Forces.

The Special Operation Forces claimed responsibility for the attack on the headquarters, which reportedly was struck with at least two U.K.-provided Storm Shadow long-range missiles.

Satellite imagery by Planet Labs revealed extensive damage the strike caused to the building. Both Ukraine and Russia confirmed that the headquarters was struck following the attack.

Admiral Viktor Sokolov

The next day after the attack, Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with the Voice of America that at least nine people were killed and 16 were injured in the strike.

Budanov said several senior Russian officers were wounded in the attack, including generals Alexander Romanchuk and Oleg Tsekov, leading Russian troops in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

In recent months, there were several high-profile strikes on Russian forces in the area, including one on Sept. 13 targeting a Russian shipyard using marine drones and missiles that damaged landing craft and a submarine, both of which were undergoing repairs at the time of the strike.

Meanwhile, the Special Operations Forces Command reported that Russian forces suffered 62 casualties in the Sept. 13 strike against the Minsk landing craft docked in the Sevastopol shipyard.

The Minsk's crew was on board when the attack occurred as the ship was scheduled to leave the dock the next day, according to Ukraine's military.