Another video purports to show Russian Black Sea Fleet commander "alive"
On 27 September, a video appeared in the Russian media showing Viktor Sokolov, Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, presenting awards to the football team that won the army championship, FC Chornomorets Sevastopol. Photos and videos of Sokolov began to be posted after the Special Operation Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces announced his death.
Source: Russian federal TV channel Zvezda ("Star"); Russian channels and FC Chornomorets Sevastopol on Telegram and VK
Details: The Pervy Sevastopolsky channel reported that Sokolov was supposedly presenting awards to football players "at this moment".
The Zvezda channel also posted a video commentary by Sokolov in which he talked about the "feats" of the Black Sea Fleet and mentioned the fact that the 810th Marine Brigade had been awarded the Order of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov.
However, there are no time markers on the video, Sokolov mentions no events that might give an approximate indication of the time of his statements, and of course he does not refute the media reports of his death.
Moreover, both events − FC Chornomorets’ victory and the awarding of the Order of Ushakov to the 810th Brigade − took place long before the attack by Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces on the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in occupied Sevastopol.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the so-called governor of Sevastopol, announced that the 810th Brigade had been presented with the Order a month ago, on 29 August.
And the championship that the football club won took place on 18 September, several days before the SOF’s attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters.
The administration of FC Chornomorets made no mention of its players being presented with awards by such a high-ranking official on its website, Telegram or social media site VK.
However, photos of the players taken after the competition were posted on the website of the Crimean Football Union on 19 September, and all of them have medals that are very similar to the ones Sokolov allegedly awarded to them on 27 September.
On 20 September, a video of the awards ceremony, probably recorded on the day of the victory, was posted on FC Chornomorets’ VK page. In it, the presenter says that the team is due to meet the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on 20 September in the Yekaterininsky Hall of the Black Sea Fleet Officers' House.
The video of Sokolov being "present" at the awards ceremony and in the video with his commentary clearly shows that he is in the Yekaterininsky Hall of the Black Sea Fleet Officers' House, judging by the distinctive chandeliers and walls.
Background:
- On 25 September, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that 34 Russian officers, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, had been killed in an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in occupied Sevastopol.
- On 26 September, Russia’s Ministry of Defence posted an image of Viktor Sokolov, Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at a meeting. Later, the Russian Defence Ministry also posted a video recording of the meeting in which Sokolov looks completely motionless on the screen. There are no time markers on the video.
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