Russian Admiral Viktor Sokolov shown on video call after Ukraine said it killed him in missile strike
Admiral Viktor Sokolov shown via video link taking part in a meeting that was presided over by Russia’s defence ministerIt came a day after Ukraine claimed it had killed the him in a missile strike on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquartersUkraine warReutersPublished: 10:40am, 27 Sep, 2023Why you can trust SCMP
Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was shown on Russian state television on Tuesday attending a defence leaders’ meeting remotely, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.
In video and photographs released by the defence ministry, Sokolov was shown as one of several fleet commanders on video apparently joining an in-person meeting of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other army chiefs, although not speaking.
Sokolov was seemingly seated with a pillow behind his head. It was not clear when the video was filmed.
Ukraine’s special forces said on Monday that Sokolov had been killed 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 in Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014.