After the Ukraine military claimed the death of the Black Sea Fleet commander, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, Russian defence ministry released a video on Tuesday showing the commander participating in a meeting.
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces on Monday claimed that Sokolov was killed in an attack at the fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Friday.
In the video, shared by the Russian ministry, Sokolov was seen joining the meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other Russian military leaders via video conference.
He appeared healthy in the video. However, it is unclear when the footage was filmed.
Meanwhile, Kremilin has not yet commented on the reports of death of the fleet commander.
"This is entirely in their purview and we have nothing to say here," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
After the footage surfaced, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said on Telegram that they are "clarifying" the information received about Sokolov.
"Available sources claim that the Black Sea Fleet Commander is among the dead. Many have not yet been identified due to the fragmentation of body fragments,” the special forces said.
The Crimean port of Sevastopol was seized by Russia and annexed in 2014.
The Ukraine military had also claimed that the strike had killed 33 Russian officers and left around 100 soldiers injured. "After the strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Another 105 occupiers were wounded. The headquarters building cannot be restored," the special forces said on the Telegram messaging app.
