Russian Admiral Fired After Black Sea Fleet Losses

(NewsReady.com) – The Ukrainian military recently announced it took out another one of Russia’s ships in the Black Sea. Initially, the Russian military didn’t comment on the attack. However, reports have now surfaced that the Kremlin has replaced the Black Sea Fleet’s top commander.

Russian Telegram channels have reported that the government fired Admiral Viktor Sokolov as the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. He was dismissed after the Ukrainian military used drones to sink the Caesar Kunikov landing ship while it was patrolling the water off the southern coast of Crimea.

Sokolov began commanding the critical navy fleet in September 2022. He was appointed after Ukraine managed to sink the Russian military’s lead warship, the Moskva, in a missile strike at the beginning of the war. The loss was an embarrassing one for the Kremlin, and one the government never admitted to. Instead, Russia insisted that there was a fire on the ship that caused it to sink.

During Sokolov’s tenure, Ukraine has managed to attack multiple Russian ships. In the two weeks before his alleged dismissal, the Ukrainian military took out two vessels. On February 1, Kyiv announced its navy drones had destroyed the missile-armed corvette Ivanovets, on Lake Donuzlav. The lake is connected to the Black Sea through a man-made channel. The Russian government disputed the claim that drones took out the ship, instead blaming US-made Patriot missiles. The Caesar Kunikov was the second vessel Ukraine destroyed.

The attacks on the Black Sea Fleet come as the second anniversary of the conflict approaches. Russia appears to be no closer to taking over the country than it was when it started the war on February 24, 2022. The two countries are also not willing to compromise in negotiations, which has caused peace talks to come to a standstill.

Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk, the deputy commander in chief of the Black Sea Fleet, has allegedly taken over as the new commander. The Kremlin has not made an official announcement about the shake-up.