Putin ‘sacks commander of Black Sea fleet’ after explosions in Crimea

Change in commander comes four months after the Moskva flagship was destroyed

Vladimir Putin has replaced the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, according to reports, four months after Ukraine sank its flagship, the Moskva, and days after a series of explosions rocked Crimea.

The Russian president is thought to have demoted admiral Igor Osipov in favour of his former deputy, Viktor Sokolov, following a series of setbacks for the fleet, including a suspected Ukrainian drone attack on its base earlier this month.

Mr Osipov’s sacking, if confirmed, would be one of the most high-profile of the war so far.

The state-run RIA news agency said Mr Sokolov had attended a meeting with the fleet’s military council in Sevastopol, a port in Crimea, the peninsula which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

The reported change in the Black Sea Fleet’s leadership comes as Kyiv said the war had reached “deadlock”.

"Russian forces have achieved only minimal advances, and in some cases we have advanced, since last month," Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said.

The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Wednesday that the Kremlin’s invasion plans had been “undermined” by its navy’s failure to exercise full control over the Black Sea.

Although it has long blockaded Ukrainian ports, the Black Sea Fleet has generally pursued an “extremely defensive” position, generally keeping close to the Crimean coast, the MoD said.

Igor Osipov became admiral of the Black Sea Fleet in May 2019 (Alamy Stock Photo)

As a Russian amphibious assault on the Ukrainian port of Odesa is therefore deemed unlikely, Ukraine has been able to send some of its troops elsewhere, it added.

The fleet’s biggest single loss has been the Moskva, which sank after it was hit by Neptune anti-ship missiles on 14 April.

A further blow to the Kremlin’s forces was inflicted last week, when explosions destroyed Russian jets at the Saky airbase in Crimea, several hundred miles from the frontlines.

In response, Moscow transferred some of its planes and helicopters back to airfields inside Russia, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.