Frustration over lack of pay
Did Russian officers betray the admiral of the Black Sea Fleet?
September 26, 2023, 12:29 a.m
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Rocket fire on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is believed to have claimed the lives of Admiral Sokolov and 33 of his officers. One report suggests that the whistleblowers were Russians angry about delayed pay payments.
Because Russian officers did not receive their salaries, they are said to have passed on confidential information about Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet to a Ukrainian partisan movement. The “Kyiv Post” reported that the Ukrainian secret service used this information to prepare the missile attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
According to Ukrainian partisans, Moscow’s inability to pay salaries to its marines on time played a key role in the attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters. Speaking to the Kyiv Post, the Partisan Movement of Ukrainians and Tatars in Crimea (ATESH) said it had received important information about the whereabouts and activities of high-ranking Russian commanders from cash-strapped officers in exchange for financial rewards.
The spokesman added that the Russian informants were not just interested in money. “The officers who gave tips believe that their country is waging a criminal war and that this war must stop,” said the partisan spokesman. “The financial reward helps them decide to work with the ATESH movement, it serves as an additional incentive.”
There is still no confirmation from Moscow about Sokolov’s death
According to the report, the partisans did not disclose how much money changed hands. But it was enough to cover the risks for the Russian informants and their families. ATESH also did not say which Russian officers provided clues, according to the Kyiv Post, but said they had access to the “general activities of the Black Sea Fleet command.” The group said the information was passed on to state authorities such as the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR). The latter confirmed to the Kyiv Post that she had worked with partisans to target Russian positions in the area.
According to information from Kiev, fleet chief Viktor Sokolov was also killed in the attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet last Friday. “After the hit at the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia,” the press service of the special forces of the Ukrainian military said on Telegram in the afternoon. There has so far been no confirmation from the Russian side of the admiral’s death.
“The Russian military is well aware of the existence of the partisan movement and is using all forces and means to suppress it and identify our agents,” the ATESH spokesman told the Kyiv Post. “The growing resistance among Crimeans greatly confuses them.”