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Ukraine Claims Commander’s Death, Russia Releases Video Showing Him Alive

The nametape on his uniform read Sokolov V. N. and his screen shows the Cyrillic letters “ЧФ”, the abbreviation for the Black Sea Fleet…reports Asian Lite News

The Russian Defence Ministry has published a video in which a commander of the Black Sea Fleet can be seen despite Ukraine’s claim that he was killed in an airstrike on the Sevastopol military headquarters in occupied Crimea on September 22, according to media reports.

The video issued by the Ministry on Tuesday showed man who resembles Admiral Viktor Sokolov appears to join a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders via video conference, reports CNN.

It was not immediately clear when the meeting took place or where Sokolov’s video appearance was filmed

The nametape on his uniform read Sokolov V. N. and his screen shows the Cyrillic letters “ЧФ”, the abbreviation for the Black Sea Fleet.

Also on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the Ukrainian claim that Sokolov had been killed.

“There has been no information from the Ministry of Defence. This is entirely in their purview and we have nothing to say here,” CNN quoted Peskov as saying to reporters.

In a social media post on Monday, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces had claimed that Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in the missile strike, reports the BBC.

The Forces however, did not name the Admiral directly, nor did they offer any evidence that he had died. 

After the Russian Ministry’s video was published, the Ukrainian side seemed to backtrack on its claim and said that they are now “clarifying” the reports.

“As it is known, 34 officers were killed as a result of a missile attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation,” the BBC quoted the Forces as saying n a statement.

“Many (bodies) still have not been identified due to the condition of the body parts.”

Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Ukraine’s new Defence Minister Rustem Umerov neither confirmed nor denied Sokolov had been killed in the strike.

“He (Sokolov) is in our temporary occupied territories … he should not be there at all. So, if he’s dead, it’s good news for everybody that we are continuing to de-occupy our territory.”

Russia appointed Sokolov as its new commander for its Crimea-based Black Sea fleet in August 2022, according to state media.

Sokolov had been serving as the Naval Academy chief since 2020. He served as the Northern Fleet deputy commander from 2013 until 2020.

The Black Sea fleet is a major symbol of Russia’s centuries-old military presence in the region, reports the BBC.

It was based in Crimea under a leasing deal even before Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014.

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Zelenskyy visits Netherlands, Denmark; hails pact on F-16 aircrafts

“The aim of this delivery is to protect Ukraine. We plan to provide the jets closer to the new year, about six of them, then eight in the next year and then another five,” CNN quoted her as saying…reports Asian Lite News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the “historic” supply of F-16 aircraft by the Netherlands and Denmark which is expected to help Kyiv’s counteroffensive against Moscow, CNN reported on Sunday.

The Netherlands and Denmark will be providing Ukraine with long-anticipated F-16 aircraft after the US approved sending the aircraft to Kyiv allowing Ukrainian pilots to begin training on the fighter jets.

F-16s are single-engine, multi-role jet aircraft, meaning they can be used in air-to-air or ground-attack missions.

Notably, Kyiv has urgently been calling on its Western allies to provide F-16 jets, as its slow-moving counteroffensive is hampered by Russian air superiority, according to CNN.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy at Eindhoven airport in the Netherlands, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that his country would “commit to delivering F-16 aircraft to Ukraine once the conditions for such a transfer have been met.”

Zelenskyy hailed the agreement as “historic” and “the most important” one yet.

“The Netherlands became the first country to agree to provide Ukraine with F-16s after training. I am very grateful,” CNN quoted him as saying.

He said that Ukraine would get 42 F-16 fighter jets after training for Ukrainian pilots and engineers is completed, according to his agreement with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Kyiv Independent reported.

“And this is only the beginning,” Zelenskyy added.

He further ruled out any possibility of “giving away” Ukrainian territory in return for peace.

“Ukraine will not exchange its territory with Russia in a potential peace deal,” Kyiv Independent quoted Zelenskyy as saying at the press conference on Sunday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on August 20 that Ukraine would get 42 F-16 fighter jets after training for Ukrainian pilots and engineers is completed, according to his agreement with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “And this is only the beginning,” Zelensky added.

However, even with this agreement, it will take months until Ukraine will be able to use these jets.

Earlier on Sunday, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement stated that it had agreed to provide F-16s. Conditions for the transfer include training Ukrainian personnel, setting up infrastructure and logistics, and receiving the necessary authorization, it said.

But, it is not clear yet how many aircraft will be provided by the Netherlands, CNN reported.

“At this moment, the Netherlands still owns 42 F-16s. Out of these 42, we need planes to help training in Denmark and later on in Romania,” Rutte said.

He added that the Netherlands would look into whether all of the remaining planes could be supplied but stated that he could not yet give a definitive number

After his visit to the Netherlands, Zelenskyy went to Denmark where he met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

“Today we announce that we will provide 19 F-16 jets to Ukraine, we believe Danish fighter jets will help protect your skies,” Frederiksen said.

“The aim of this delivery is to protect Ukraine. We plan to provide the jets closer to the new year, about six of them, then eight in the next year and then another five,” CNN quoted her as saying.

The meetings come after a US official on Friday said the US had committed to approving the transfer of F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine as soon as training is complete.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Saturday that Ukrainian pilots had begun training.

Meanwhile, the US decision of approving the transfer of F-16s marks a sharp turnaround by the Biden administration, which for the last year had refused to approve any transfer of the aircraft or conduct training for fear that it could escalate tensions with Russia. The change indicates a new sense of urgency from Washington to get fighter jets to the battlefield as soon as possible, amid growing concerns about the prospects for Kyiv’s slow-going counteroffensive, according to Politico.

Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Moscow will consider the supply of F-16s to Ukraine as “a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere” because of the jets’ ability to carry nuclear weapons. On Friday, he renewed the warning that in providing arms to Ukraine, the NATO allies risk entering “a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers,” Politico reported. (ANI)

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