September 27, 2023 at 3:20 am EDT
In May, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, center, commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, attends a ceremony in Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean Peninsula. (Alexey Pavlishak/Portal)
Uncertainty remains over the fate of Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, whom Ukraine is believed to have killed in an attack on the naval headquarters in Crimea last week. Russia’s state defense television channel and pro-Russian Telegram channels released videos of Sokolov’s speech on Wednesday – but it is not clear when the recordings were made. This came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry released a video via video link that purported to show Sokolov attending a meeting. The Washington Post found no signs of obvious manipulation in this video, but could not independently confirm its authenticity.
Ukraine’s special forces said Tuesday they were “clarifying the information” about Sokolov’s status. “Available sources claim that among the dead was the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” it said, but added that many bodies still had not been identified. Last Friday’s attack on Sevastopol was an embarrassing failure for Russian air defense. A U.S.-based think tank noted that Sokolov’s death, if confirmed, “would cause significant disruptions in the command and control of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.”
Here you will find the latest information about the war and its impact around the world.
Russian state defense television channel Zvezda News released a video on Wednesday showing Sokolov talking to reporters. “Surface troops, submarine forces, naval aviation and coastal troops successfully carry out their tasks,” Sokolov said. However, the date the video was filmed remains unclear – in the clip, Sokolov describes an award that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his unit in August. Meanwhile, pro-Russian Telegram channels in Sevastopol published a video showing Sokolov presenting an award to a soccer team that won a tournament that ended on September 18.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined Tuesday to comment on whether Sokolov was still alive. She told reporters that the White House was aware of the briefing video previously released by the Russian Defense Ministry, in which Sokolov is seen on screen in uniform but does not speak, and said she had “nothing to confirm at this time.” The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based think tank, said Tuesday it was “not prepared at this time to make an assessment about the authenticity of the Russian Defense Ministry’s recordings of Sokolov or about Sokolov’s status on Earth.” “.
A Polish cabinet minister is calling for the extradition from Canada of a 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran who fought in a Nazi unit during the Second World War. Yaroslav Hunka’s presence at an event at the Canadian Parliament last week while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was speaking sparked widespread backlash and led to the resignation of the Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, Anthony Rota – an incident Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau called “profound awkward”. Polish Minister of Education Przemysław Czarnek said that the incident was “scandalous” and that he would take steps to extradite Hunka to Poland to face trial.
Zelensky has appointed former football player and national coach Andriy Shevchenko as an adviser to the president, This emerges from a decree published on Tuesday. Shevchenko has been involved in politics since at least 2012, when he ran in a Ukrainian parliamentary election but failed to win a seat, according to the Kyiv Post.
Russian representation on the UN Human Rights Council is “not consistent with its actions in Ukraine” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said this during a press conference on Tuesday, citing alleged war crimes. Russia was expelled from the council shortly after its invasion of Ukraine, but the BBC reported this week that Moscow is seeking to rejoin.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik said he could not imagine his country entering the war in Ukraine on Russia’s sidein an interview with Associated Press. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory to send troops to Ukraine in February 2022. Lukashenko said his troops would only join the fighting if Belarus were attacked.
Norway is providing Ukraine with additional aid worth around $92.5 million, to ensure that “Ukrainians in need have access to necessary protection and vital assistance before another winter of war,” the government said in a statement.
The Ukrainian government has fully implemented seven recommendations from the European Commission to advance its path to EU membership, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. In the announcement, part of a statement unveiling a program to improve opportunities for minorities and indigenous peoples, Shmyhal warned that Ukraine’s entry into the EU bloc is “still a long and difficult road.” The EU granted Ukraine candidate status last year, although experts warn that full membership could still be decades away.
At least 504 children have been killed in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began, according to information released Tuesday by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office. More than 1,125 children were also injured, it said.
The US Department of Defense refused to share information about the US supply of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. “I have no announcements to make regarding ATACMS,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters during a news conference. The Post reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Biden administration plans to deploy a version of the long-range missiles.
Russia attacks Odessa port in latest attack on Ukrainian grain: A Russian attack on Odessa was the latest attack on Ukraine’s vital agricultural sector as Moscow seeks to exploit divisions between Kiev and its European neighbors over grain exports, Alex Horton and Kamila Hrabchuk report. The strike killed at least two people, destroyed grain elevators and damaged port facilities.
Russian interference with Ukraine’s use of the Black Sea as a food export highway has forced Kiev to explore overland routes, but Ukraine is facing resistance from some of its closest neighbors.