Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet has been fired by the Kremlin the day after Ukraine claimed to have sunk another Russian warship, according to unconfirmed reports.
And Iain Ballantyne, a UK-based author and expert in naval matters, said if accurate, the reports hinted at what he called a “grave systemic failure” when it came to Russia’s military operations in the key strategic waterway.
Several pro-war bloggers in Russia made the claims on the Telegram instant messaging service today.
Rybar, an influential channel with 1.2 million subscribers, claimed Sokolov – who was erroneously reported as having been killed in action last year – had been replaced.
Osvedomitel and Dva Mayora, two other similar channels, claimed said the destruction of the Caesar Kunikov was the “last straw” for Sokolov’s superiors.
A fourth blogger, Roman Saponkov, said Sokolov was to blame for a series of orders which had resulted in the loss of 20 percent of the Black Sea Fleet. None of them cited sources for their information.
State-aligned Russian news website The Insider suggested Solokov’s duties would now be performed by Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk, Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet and his former deputy.
Mr Ballantyne, editor of naval magazine Warships International Fleet Review, told Express.co.uk: “I am loathe to comment on this specific case as we do not know the full inside details, or much at all to be honest. Russian official sources have not confirmed this officer’s sacking.
“But, in general historically, when the fleet you command loses a number of ships, then as the overall boss you have to carry the can.
“That’s because the causes, while partly a result of bad luck or cutting edge enemy tech – for which there may be no adequate counter-measures fitted to a vessel – there is also a possibility that it is down to defective training.”
This is turn may have led to “slack vigilance” in high risk zones aboard lost vessels, poor gunnery and seamanship, and failure to impose, or adhere to, operational doctrine designed to try and avoid such catastrophic losses, Mr Ballantyne suggested.
He continued: “The Fleet Commander, is charged with over-seeing all of that – via subordinates whom he must inspire and manage to ensure that during a conflict the crews of warships are best prepared and have the right Commanding Officers at sea.
“The buck always stops with the fleet boss – even if he is not directly to blame. A familiar military description of such a circumstances, whether it be in relation to a fleet or a warship, is that a Commanding Officer has lost the confidence of his superiors and so has been removed from his position.”
In terms of Russia’s overall performance, Mr Ballantyne said: “To lose so many vessels in recent months to sea drones suggests a grave systemic failure in the Black Sea Fleet.
“More details on this latest loss, and earlier ones, will emerge in time of course and only then will we know the exact case and precisely who was truly to blame, other than the Ukrainians of course, who have proven masters at using sea drones to destroy enemy ships.”
Sokolov has held several senior positions in the Russian navy and since 2020 has been in charge of a naval academy in St Petersburg.
On September 22, 2023, Ukraine claimed he, together with multiple other officers, had been killed when the Black Sea Fleet HQ at Sevastopol, Crimea was hit by Ukraine-launched Storm Shadows cruise missiles in what was referred to as Operation Crab Trap.
It subsequently transpired that Sokolov had in fact survived.
