Russia is not saying anything about the claim that Putin’s top military leader has been killed in an attack.
Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk from Ukraine said his crews did great in a fight with a Russian military post near Sevastopol in Crimea.
The news in the area says that General Valery Gerasimov, who is Vladimir Putin’s top war commander, may have been killed in an attack. It is not confirmed if he was at the command post at the time.
Nataliya Humenyuk, who speaks for the Ukrainian southern defense forces, did not say if Gerasimov had died. She said, “We are gathering the information you want to know. ”
“Once it’s confirmed, it will be shared with the public. ” Right now, all we can say is what we already know – the control point has been reached.
A big boom and lots of smoke were seen on video from a possible attack with a missile called Storm Shadow at a military headquarters in Yukharin Balka.
Another army place in Crimea in the village of Uyutnoye, near Yevpatoria, in Saki district was also said to be attacked.
Ukrainian sources said a lot of ambulances were seen at both places.
Putin’s chosen governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said: “It was the biggest attack in a long time. ”
Gerasimov was last seen on December 29th giving awards to soldiers who did a good job during the fighting in Marinka, Ukraine. He hasn’t been seen since then.
However, this week is an important Russian holiday, and he has disappeared from public view for long periods before.
Newsweek said that some people are saying that Gerasimov is dead, but it’s not proven. It seems like this started after WarVehicleTracker shared a picture from a Russian Telegram channel called “Ordinary Tsarism. ”
“The message said that Valery Gerasimov was killed in an attack on Crimea while he was at a command post near Sevastopol. ”
There is no proof that the general, who was against Yevgeny Prigozhin, was in Crimea or was injured in the attack there.
Russia has not said anything about the claims yet.
Shortly after the attack, Oleshchuk said, “I thank the Ukrainian Air Force pilots and everyone who planned the operation for their excellent work in combat. ”
He said that Russian propaganda might tell lies about the attacks, and he expects them to do the same on January 4th like they did before.