Senior Russian Naval Officer Killed in Car Bombing in Sevastopol

A senior Russian naval officer was killed in a car bombing in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Wednesday. The explosion, claimed by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), targeted Valery Trankovsky, a Russian naval captain and chief of staff of the 41st brigade of Russia’s Black Sea missile ships.

The bombing occurred on Taras Shevchenko Street, named after Ukraine’s famous poet, and has been described as a Ukrainian strike against a high-ranking Russian official involved in alleged war crimes. According to Ukrainian sources, Trankovsky was responsible for missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, including a deadly strike on Vinnytsia in July 2022.

While Russia’s Investigative Committee has labeled the incident as a “terrorist act,” Ukrainian officials argue that Trankovsky was a “legitimate target” under the laws of war due to his role in directing missile strikes against civilians.

The attack on Trankovsky is part of a broader trend of targeted killings of Russian figures linked to the war, including journalists and military officials, which Moscow attributes to Ukrainian intelligence. Trankovsky’s name was also added to the Myrotvorets database, a Ukrainian site listing individuals deemed enemies of the state, with the word “Liquidated” stamped over his photo after his death.

Sevastopol, a key city in Crimea and the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian strikes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.