Russian Black Sea fleet commander seen alive and well, debunking media reports

Russian Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov has turned up alive and well, taking part in a Defense Ministry board meeting alongside Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday.

Sokolov's appearance follows claims in dozens of Western media outlets quoting Ukraine's Special Operations Forces claiming that he had been killed in last week's strike on the Black Sea Fleet's HQ, citing Ukrainian officials, without verifying the information. Ukraine used several British-sourced Storm Shadow cruise missiles to target the HQs building of the Russian Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea last Friday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said six people were injured in the September 22 attack, with one person unaccounted for and the HQ's historic building suffering damage. These figures are a far cry from estimates made by Kiev - which claimed that dozens of servicemen and officers were killed and over 100 injured.

US reconnaissance forces were spotted in the area near the HQ two days prior to the attack, prompting Russian and US military observers to tell that they suspect direct NATO involvement in the strike.

The UK approved the delivery of Storm Shadow cruise missile systems to Ukraine in May, with Ukraine's armed forces subsequently using them liberally, including to attack built-up civilian areas in the Donbass.

Despite generous arms deliveries, intelligence and other support to Kiev, the United States and most of its allies refuse to admit that the Ukrainian crisis is a NATO proxy war against Russia.