34 Russian officers, including Black Sea fleet commander, killed in Ukrainian attack
Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet, was killed in a Ukrainian attack on the city of Sevastopol, in Russian-annexed Crimea, last week, the Ukrainian military said on Monday.
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According to Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, 34 Russian officers, including Admiral Sokolov, were killed in the attack on the Russian Black Sea fleet headquarters on 22 September.
Another 105 Russian troops were wounded in the attack, which rendered the headquarters building unrepairable, the Ukrainian military claims.
Russia never confirms reports of its military casualties in its war against Ukraine, which began with the full-scale invasion last February.
Viktor Sokolov was appointed Russian Black Sea fleet commander last September.
In addition, 62 Russians were killed in a strike on the large landing ship Minsk on 13 September, the Special Operation Forces said in a statement.
The high number of casualties was due to the fact that the ship was to have gone on combat duty the next day, and therefore its crew were on board.
The attack is the latest in a series of strikes on the Russian-annexed peninsula, where Ukrainian forces have been targeting military infrastructure used in Russia’s full-scale invasion.