This Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense released images that would confirm that the commander of the Black Sea Fleet is still alive. This comes after Ukraine claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Crimea that reportedly killed him.

In the footage, Admiral Viktor Sokolov appears in uniform during a video conference chaired by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

A statement that does not mention the soldier by name shows that the meeting took place on Tuesday.

The Kremlin declined questions about the commander on Tuesday and referred them to the Defense Ministry shortly before the statement was released.

Commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet dies after Ukrainian missile strikes

Ukraine on Friday bombed the Russian Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol, on the annexed Crimean peninsula, with missiles.

The Ukrainian military claimed on Monday that around 30 officers, including Sokolov, were killed in the attack.

Following the release of the Sokolov images, Ukrainian special operations forces said they were “clarifying” the situation.

On Telegram they admitted that according to “available sources” the commander was among the dead, but that the identification of the victims is sometimes difficult because the bodies have deteriorated considerably.

The Ukrainian Army’s Special Operations Forces today insisted that their sources include the commander among the 34 Russian soldiers killed in the missile attack launched by Kiev on Friday on the General Staff of this part of the Russian Navy.

“Since the Russians were forced to urgently publish a response with an apparently alive Sokolov, our researchers clarify the information,” the Ukrainian note says.

According to Kiev’s Special Operations Forces, many of the Russian soldiers killed in the attack on the Black Sea Fleet general staff in Sevastopol, on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, could not be identified due to the state where their bodies were left.

“Available sources assure that among the dead is the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation,” reads the note published on the official Telegram account of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, which yesterday announced the death of Admiral Sokolov. (JO)