Russian cmdr. refutes death allegations by Kiev, appears in MoD video

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Sep 2023 15:26
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Admiral Viktor Sokolov is pictured in military uniform attending via video link a meeting held on Tuesday and presided over by the Russian Defense Minister.

The commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet Admiral Viktor Sokolov pictured in military uniform attending via video link a meeting held on September 26, 2023, and presided over by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (Russian Defense Ministry)

The commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, whom Ukraine claimed to have killed in a recent missile strike, appeared in images distributed on Tuesday by the Russian Defense Ministry.

Kiev alleged earlier this week it had killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov and 34 officers in an unprecedented strike on the fleet's naval headquarters in the Crimean peninsula last week.

Sokolov was pictured in military uniform attending via video link a meeting held on Tuesday and presided over by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The Defense Ministry released a statement, saying the meeting had taken place earlier in the day.

In an eight-minute video distributed later by the Ministry, Sokolov appears on screen several times.

The Kremlin told reporters moments before the statement was published that it had "no information" regarding the status of the commander and deferred questions to the Defense Ministry. It had said on the day of the attack that one serviceman was missing.

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