Top Russian navy commander killed in alleged car bomb attack in Ukraine’s Crimea
- 13 November, 08:02
Ukrainian Security Service has killed Russia’s top Black Sea Fleet captain in Crimea’s Sevastopol city, Ukrainian media reported on Wednesday.
Valery Trankovsky, the Chief of Staff of the 41st Brigade of Missile Ships and Boats of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was killed in a car bomb explosion on Wednesday morning, Unian website reported, citing a source within Ukraine’s Special Service.
The unnamed source told Unian that Trankovsky, 47, was a “war criminal”, thus a “legitimate target under the laws of war”. Trankovsky reportedly gave orders to launch cruise missiles from the Black Sea against civilian targets in Ukraine. In particular, Trankovsky ordered firing Kaliber missiles at Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region in July 2022, causing the death of 29 civilians, the source said. Trankovsky also ordered deadly strikes at south-western Odessa cities and other cities across the country since Russia’s full-fledged invasion in 2022.
According to Russian media reports, Russian Emergency Ministry arrived on the scene by 9:59 a.m. local time shortly after the explosion but could not save the live of Trankovsky who was driving the car during the time of the incident. The improvised explosive device, IED, placed under the driver’s seat was reportedly activated remotely.
It should be noted that a series of attacks were launched on key Russian military figures involved in the war in Ukraine in recent months. Ukraine’s Russian-held Crime Peninsula has been the main venue for such retaliatory operations.
