- Gerasimov has not been seen at a military awards ceremony since December 29
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Russia has not yet commented on a swirl of unconfirmed rumors that Vladimir Putin's top war commander, General Valery Gerasimov, was killed in an attack on a military command post in Crimea on Thursday.
An explosion and a trail of smoke were visible in a fragment of a suspected Storm Shadow attack on the military compound in Yukharin Balka. Another target in the village of Uyutnoye, near Yevpatoria, was also reportedly hit.
A flood of ambulances was reported at both locations by Ukrainian sources, and the Putin-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said: “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 the occupied Donetsk region, Ukraine.
Ukraine claims to have attacked two major Russian military bases in occupied Crimea, in what Putin-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev described as “the largest attack yet” on Crimea
Russia has not yet commented on a swirl of unconfirmed rumors that Vladimir Putin's top war commander, General Valery Gerasimov (pictured), was killed in one of the attacks.
General Valery Gerasimov with Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian media reported the rumors, and air force commander in Kiev, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, praised the “impeccable combat work” of his crews.
However, Ukraine has not publicly claimed that 68-year-old Gerasimov – who is also Putin's first deputy defense minister – was at the command post or that he was killed.
Nataliya Humenyuk, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Southern Armed Forces, said: “We are collecting the information you are currently interested in. Once properly confirmed, it will be made public.
“At this point we can only say what is already known: the checkpoint has been hit.”
The rumor about Gerasimov's death appears to have started circulating after a Russian telegram channel called 'Ordinary Tsarism' posted an unconfirmed message.
It said: “According to preliminary data, Valery Gerasimov, who was in a command post near Sevastopol at the time of the attack, was killed in the attack on Crimea.”
The message then disappeared and the sender provided no evidence to support the claim.
Putin's senior war commander and head of Russia's armed forces has not been seen since December 29, when he presented military awards
The rumor about Gerasimov's death appears to have started circulating after a Russian telegram channel called 'Ordinary Tsarism' posted an unconfirmed report
There is no independent evidence that the general – an enemy of slain warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin – was in Crimea, nor that he was hit in the Crimean attack
Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind said: 'The media write that Valery Gerasimov died during yesterday's attack in Crimea.
'He is the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia.
“At this time the information has not been officially confirmed.”
RBK-Ukraine reported: “Today information began to spread on the Internet that the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, was allegedly killed as a result of yesterday's attacks in Crimea.”
There is no independent evidence that the general – an enemy of slain warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin – was in Crimea, nor that he was hit in the Crimean attack.
Shortly after the attack, Oleshchuk said: “I once again thank the pilots of the (Ukrainian) Air Force and everyone who planned the operation for their impeccable combat work.”
He warned that Russian propaganda could give misleading accounts of the strikes.
“I expect the same epic report of enemy propaganda from Sevastopol and Yevpatoria on January 4 (as about previous denials of Ukrainian attacks),” he said.