The Black Sea Fleet, based in the annexed Russia Crimea has received a new commander, the Russian news agency RIA reported, citing sources, following strikes received on Russian military bases on the peninsula over the past nine days.

If the change is confirmed, the dismissal of the previous commander, Igor Osipov, will be the most significant dismissal of a military official in almost six months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment.

The state news agency RIA, citing its own sources, writes that the new commander, Viktor Sokolov, was introduced to members of the military council of the fleet in the port of Sevastopol.

One source said it’s “normal” that no appointment has been made public as Russia is pursuing what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

The Black Sea Fleet, which has a venerable history in Russia, suffered several public humiliations during the war launched by President Vladimir Putin on February 24.

In April, Ukraine hit the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet Moskva with Neptune missiles, causing it to catch fire and sink.

Last week, a series of explosions took place at the Saki airbase in southwestern Crimea, near the naval headquarters in Sevastopol, which destroyed eight warplanes, according to satellite imagery.

Then on Tuesday there were explosions at an ammunition depot at a military base in the northern part of the peninsula. Russia spoke of sabotage, while Ukraine hinted that it was responsible for this attack.

Russia’s FSB security service said today it had arrested six members of a so-called Islamist terrorist cell in Crimea, although it did not say whether they were suspected of involvement in the bombings.

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

Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and has since been heavily fortified, is the main supply route for the Russian invading forces that took over southern Ukraine, where Kyiv is planning a counteroffensive in the coming weeks.

The navy has been blockading Ukrainian ports since the start of the war in February, delaying vital grain exports that are only now beginning to resume under a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations.

The fact that Ukraine appeared to be capable of delivering a devastating blow to what Moscow considered a safe stronghold served as a moral boost for Kyiv.

According to his official biography posted on the website of the Ministry of Defense, since May 2019, the 49-year-old former commander of the Black Sea Fleet Igor Osipov has been in command.

Viktor Sokolov, 60, who replaced him, has extensive experience in commanding minesweepers and formations in the 1980s and 1990s, and subsequently held senior positions in the Pacific and Northern Fleets, where he held the position of deputy commander. As of 2020, he was the head of a prestigious military academy.

Source: RES-IPE