As reports of progress in their counteroffensive come in, Ukraine says it successfully targeted a meeting of top officers of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, killing its commander and others:
Ukraine said Monday it had killed the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in a missile strike on the naval headquarters in occupied Crimea.
It comes days after an attack that left the building smoldering, the latest salvo in a mounting effort to target the Kremlin’s naval forces and isolate the annexed peninsula.
Kyiv did not provide evidence for the claim, which NBC News has not verified, but if confirmed it would be one of the most high-profile losses of the war so far.
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said in a post on Telegram that “the commander” of the Black Sea Fleet was among 34 officers who died in the strike on the fleet’s headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Friday.
The commander of the fleet is Viktor Sokolov, although the Ukrainian statement did not name him directly. [snip]
“If true it would likely be the highest ranking naval officer killed in combat since WWII,” Admiral James Stavridis, former NATO supreme allied commander and current chief international security analyst for NBC News, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Here's the moment a British- made Storm Shadow missile hit the headquarters:
Also, the first of 31 M1 Abrams tanks (2 battalions worth) are arriving months early in Ukraine, adding to the sense that the tide will be turning in the critical months before winter sets in.
The House Republican Putin Caucus must be beside themselves.
