Ukrainian military kills commander of Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol – Armed Forces of Ukraine

Admiral Viktor Sokolov has been the Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet since 2022. According to Ukrainian defenders, another 105 occupiers were wounded in an attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on September 22. The headquarters building itself is beyond repair.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine also published updated information on Russian losses as a result of a special operation to destroy the large landing ship Minsk on the night of September 13.

"Taking into account the fact that the Minsk was to go on combat duty the next day, the personnel were present on the [ship]. Irreversible losses amounted to 62 occupiers," the statement said.

Ukraine's operations

On the night of September 13, the Ukrainian military fired missiles at the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Shipyard (known as Sevmorzavod) in occupied Sevastopol, damaging two ships: The large landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don.

On September 22, the Ukrainian military attacked the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in occupied Sevastopol. Before that, Russian air defense was operating in the occupied Crimea in the morning, and Russians used a smoke screen to cover the Sevastopol Bay. Explosions were heard in the area of Inkerman, near the Belbek airfield, in Saky, near the village of Berezivka. Twice a day, traffic was blocked on the Kerch (Crimean) Bridge.

After footage of the destroyed building was shared on social media, the Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged a hit on its headquarters. Initially, they reported that one soldier was killed in the strike, but later corrected that he went "missing."

According to Ukraine's intelligence, at least nine Russian servicemen were killed in the strike on the headquarters. Another 16 occupiers were wounded, including generals. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the attack was an operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine called "Crab Trap".