Ukraine says Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander killed; no comment by Moscow.

In the missile strike last week on the command center of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol, Ukraine’s special forces claimed on Monday that they had also killed 33 additional officers besides the senior admiral of Moscow in Crimea.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond when Reuters contacted it to confirm or deny that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most senior navy leaders, had passed away.

To counter Ukraine’s escalating strikes on Crimea, a crucial territory serving as a base from which Russia has launched most of its air attacks on Ukraine throughout the 19-month conflict, Moscow-installed authorities in Sevastopol, however, were taking further precautions.

Upon confirmation, the assassination of Sokolov would rank among Kyiv’s most serious actions against Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, which it had taken from Ukraine.

“34 officers, including the Russian Black Sea Fleet commander, were killed during the attack on the fleet’s headquarters. One hundred and five other occupants suffered injuries. On Telegram’s messaging platform, Ukraine’s special forces declared that the headquarters building could not be repaired.

How the Special Forces of Ukraine tallied the attack’s fatalities and casualties was not immediately clear.

Reuters was unable to confirm the claim independently. Both sides have occasionally overstated enemy casualties in the conflict while understating their own.

The Russian defense ministry revised an earlier announcement that the serviceman had been killed and stated following the strike that one serviceman was still missing. Air defenses shot down five missiles, the ministry reported.

Attacks by Ukraine in the Black Sea and on the Crimean Peninsula have increased, and they’ve started deploying missiles in addition to assault drones. According to Kyiv, eliminating the Russian Black Sea navy would help hasten the war’s conclusion.

Russia’s defense ministry said earlier this month that ten cruise missiles fired from Ukraine were used to attack a Black Sea naval facility.

The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol held a meeting on Monday to develop stronger defense and assault warning systems for the city, which may indicate how severe the recent Ukrainian attacks on the city have been.

Russian media described the governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, as saying to the government, “We understand that we have moved into a new situation that requires a systemic response.”

“Earlier, unmanned vehicle strikes were made against us and our military… We must be ready to face this challenge now that everything has changed.