Russian Black Sea commander shown working after Ukraine said it killed him

MOSCOW – Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most senior navy officers, was shown on Tuesday attending a video conference, a day after Ukraine’s Special Forces said they killed him.

In a video and photographs released by the Russian Defence Ministry, Adm Sokolov was shown apparently taking part in a video conference with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top admirals and army chiefs.

The video was shown on Russian state television.

Ukraine’s Special Forces said on Monday they killed Adm Sokolov, Moscow’s top admiral in Crimea, along with 33 other officers in a missile attack last week on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian claim, referring reporters to the Defence Ministry.

In the video released by the ministry, Mr Shoigu said more than 17,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in September, and that more than 2,700 weapons, including seven American Bradley fighting vehicles, had been destroyed.

“The Ukrainian armed forces are suffering serious losses along the entire front line,” Mr Shoigu said, adding that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has so far produced no results.

“The United States and its allies continue to arm the armed forces of Ukraine, and the Kyiv regime throws untrained soldiers to their slaughter in senseless assaults,” Mr Shoigu said.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has yet to yield significant territorial gains against Russian forces, which control about 17.5 per cent of the internationally recognised territory of Ukraine.

According to a Sept 19 scorecard by the Belfer Centre at Harvard’s Kennedy School, Russia has gained 90 sq km of territory from Ukraine in the past month, while Ukrainian forces have taken 41 sq km from Russian forces. REUTERS