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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Athena Stavrou and Martha McHardy

Ukraine-Russia war – live: Top admiral Viktor Sokolov ‘seen in second video’ after Kyiv claimed he was killed

REUTERS/Alexey Pavlishak

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Black Sea fleet commander Viktor Sokolov has appeared in a second video aired on Russian TV, days after Ukraine claimed he was killed in a missile strike on Sevastopol.

A TV station run by Russia’s defence ministry showed an interview with the commander on Wednesday saying the fleet was performing successfully, although it was unclear from his comments whether the clip was filmed after Ukraine’s missile strike on 22 September.

Ukraine’s special forces said on Monday that Mr Sokolov and 33 other officers were killed in the missile strike carried out on the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Crimea.

The new video comes after Russia’s defence ministry released another clip on Tuesday, appearing to show Mr Sokolov on a video conference call with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu. It also remains unclear when this video was recorded.

Ukraine is now saying it is working to “clarify” earlier reports that he had died. Russia has not yet directly confirmed or denied the claims.

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