High-ranking Russian naval commander allegedly behind missile attacks on Ukraine killed in Sevastopol
A car explosion in the occupied city of Sevastopol has left a high-ranking Russian military officer with fatal injuries, according to local media reports. As reported by The Moscow Times, an explosive device detonated, resulting in non-survivable injuries for Valery T., a captain of the first rank and chief of staff of the 41st brigade of missile ships and boats. The vehicle exploded and caught fire. Local "governor" Mikhail Razvozhayev announced that rescue workers arrived swiftly but were unable to save Valery T., who succumbed to his injuries after being evacuated from the vehicle.
The car exploded while parked outside a shop on Taras Shevchenko Street. Russian media suggest that a homemade explosive device was triggered and allege that the officer was under surveillance for a week prior to the attack, with conspiracy theorists pointing to a contract killing as the primary motive.
While the Russian media only identifies the deceased officer as 47-year-old Valery T., chief of staff of the aforementioned brigade, NEXTA reports he is Valery Trankovsky.
Sources within the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed the death of Valeriy Trankovsky, the head of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's missile ship headquarters, who allegedly masterminded attacks against Ukrainian civilians. Trankovsky was killed when his car exploded on Shevchenko Street in Sevastopol, a city currently under occupation in Crimea. He suffered immediate fatal injuries due to massive blood loss after losing his lower limbs in the blast.
The attack is described by the SBU as a "successful special operation." According to SBU, “Trankovsky was responsible for launching cruise missile attacks from the Black Sea against civilian targets in Ukraine. His orders led to the tragic deaths of 29 civilians in Vinnytsia in July 2022 and multiple attacks on Odesa and other peaceful cities.”
The SBU justified the operation, stating that Trankovsky's assassination adhered to the laws and customs of war, emphasizing his role as a legitimate target due to his involvement in war crimes. Russian media reported he was under surveillance for a week before the operation, and the explosive device was detonated remotely. The attack symbolizes retribution for his role in the deaths of innocent Ukrainians.
Trankovsky was notably included in the database of "Myrotvorets," a Ukrainian site cataloging those linked to war crimes against Ukraine. His death echoes a previous event on October 21, when an unidentified group in Bryansk, Russia, killed, reportedly using a hammer, military criminal Dmitriy Golenkov, implicated in airstrikes against Ukrainian cities.