Russian Black Sea Fleet commander is still alive, video suggests, days after Ukraine claimed to kill him
Russia's Ministry of Defence published a video showing a Russian commander attending a meeting by video link.
It was unusual given that Ukraine confidently claimed to have killed him on Friday in an air strike.
While it isn't absolute proof, the video suggests that Admiral Viktor Sokolov is still alive.
The Russian Ministry of Defense published a video undermining Ukraine's claim to have killed one of its top commanders, appearing to show him in a meeting.
Viktor Sokolov, the admiral of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, appeared on a large screen at a meeting of the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday.
The image was striking because Ukraine earlier claimed to have killed Sokolov on Friday in a major strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters near Sevastopol, a port in occupied Crimea.
Ukraine's special forces said on Monday he was one of 34 officers killed in a missile strike on the naval base. But a man resembling Sokolov, and wearing a name badge and insignia matching his rank, was seen on-screen at the meeting Tuesday.
Insider can't verify whether the man in the video is in fact Sokolov, or when the footage and pictures were taken. Ukraine also said that 105 people were injured in the strike.
Sokolov didn't appear hurt in the footage, but only his head and chest were visible. He does not speak in the video.
The attack on Friday was one of a series Ukraine has launched on Russian military targets in Crimea.
Had he been killed, Sokolov would have been one of the most senior casualties in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin on Tuesday did not confirm or deny that Sokolov was dead, passing questions to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Reuters reported. The ministry did not directly answer, but did publish the video.
In a transcript of the meeting in which Sokolov reappeared, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu boasted of what he claimed were recent Russian successes against Ukraine's counteroffensive.
According to the website of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Sokolov was appointed its highest ranking officer in September 2022.
Ukraine says the fleet has launched attacks on civilian targets, and it is playing a key role in seeking to blockade Ukrainian grain shipments.
Russia has previously released pictures of top officials in an apparent bid to quash rumors about their fate. Pictures released of Shoigu with top commanders in Ukraine in June helped counteract rumors that he had been removed from his position after the uprising by the Wagner Group.
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