January 5th 2024.
Valery Gerasimov is a top war commander at the Kremlin and a major player in Russia. Following an attack on a Russian military command post near Sevastopol in Crimea on Thursday, Ukrainian Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk praised the ‘impeccable combat work’ of his crews.
Local media is reporting that General Gerasimov was killed in the strike, although it is yet to be confirmed whether he was at the command post. Nataliya Humenyuk, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian southern defence forces, has stated that they are still collecting the information regarding the attack and will make it public as soon as it has appropriate confirmation.
An explosion and smoke was seen on video from a suspected Storm Shadow strike at a military command post in Yukharin Balka, and another military site in Crimea in the village of Uyutnoye, near Yevpatoria, in Saki district was also reportedly hit. Putin-appointed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said that it was ‘the most massive [attack] in recent times’.
Gerasimov has not been seen since December 29 when footage showed him presenting awards to ‘military personnel who distinguished themselves during the liberation of Marinka’ in occupied Donetsk region, Ukraine. An unverified rumour of his death appears to have begun circulating after WarVehicleTracker on X shared an image purporting to show a message published by a Russian Telegram channel.
However, this week is a major Russian holiday, and Gerasimov has previously disappeared from public view for long periods. Russia is yet to comment on the claims, and there is currently no independent evidence to determine whether the general was in Crimea or hit in the Crimean strike.
Soon after the strike, Oleshchuk was quoted praising the operation and warning of possible misleading accounts of the strikes from Russian propaganda.
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