“No”, claim the Ukrainians after their recent attack on the HQ of the Russian Black Sea fleet. “Yes”, answer the Russians with a (probably) live video of (probably) alive admiral Sokolov. In every war, the first victim is truth.
On Tuesday, September 26th, Viktor Sokolov was featured in a live video conference, despite reports from Ukrainian special forces claiming his death a day earlier. The Russian defense ministry released video footage and photos depicting Sokolov’s apparent participation in the conference alongside Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other senior military leaders. This conference was broadcast on Russian state television.
Ukraine’s special forces had declared on Monday that they had eliminated Sokolov, the top Russian admiral in Crimea, along with 33 other officers, during a missile strike targeting the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol the previous week. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has refrained from commenting on Sokolov’s status, directing inquiries to the defense ministry for official statements. This situation highlights the contrasting claims regarding Sokolov’s status and the underlying tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
