Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea has appointed a new commander, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, after Russian military bases on the peninsula were hit by explosions over the past nine days.

If Russian media reports are confirmed, the removal of the previous commander, Igor Osipov, would be the most significant dismissal of a military official in nearly six months since Russia’s high-casualty invasion of Ukraine.

The new chief, Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov, was presented to the members of the military council of the fleet in the port of Sevastopol, according to sources referring to RIA Novosti.

One of the sources said it was “normal” for the appointment not to be announced publicly as Russia conducts what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia’s revered Black Sea Fleet has suffered several public humiliations during the war, which Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on February 24.

Explosions continue in Crimea

In April, Ukraine hit its flagship warship Moskva with Neptune missiles, causing it to catch fire and sink.

Last week, its Saka air base in southwestern Crimea, not far from the naval headquarters in Sevastopol, was devastated by a series of explosions that destroyed eight military aircraft, according to satellite images.

Then on Tuesday, explosions rocked an ammunition depot at a military base in the north of the peninsula. Russia called it sabotage, and Ukraine hinted at itself.

On Wednesday, Russia’s FSB security service said it had detained six members of an Islamist terrorist organization in Crimea, but did not say whether they were suspected of involvement in the bombings.

Who is Viktor Sokolov, the new commander of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea

According to his official biography on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the former commander, 49-year-old Osipov, has been in charge since May 2019.

His replacement, Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov, 60, has extensive experience commanding ships and minesweepers in the 1980s and 1990s, and then held various posts in the Pacific Fleet and the Northern Fleet, serving as deputy commander of the latter.

Since 2020, he heads the prestigious military academy, Reuters notes.

Russia is proud of its Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet is much larger than the Ukrainian fleet and has been a source of national pride since its founding under Empress Catherine the Great in 1783.

Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and has since fortified, is a major supply route for Russian invasion forces occupying southern Ukraine, where Kyiv is planning a counteroffensive in the coming weeks.

The navy has blockaded Ukrainian ports since the start of the war in February, forcing a halt to grain exports, which have only now resumed under a deal brokered by Turkey and the UN.

That Ukraine was apparently capable of launching devastating attacks on what Moscow considered a strong stronghold was a moral blow.

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