On Wednesday, a bomb placed under a car in the occupied Crimean city of Sevastopol exploded and killed a senior Russian navy officer. A Kyiv-based security source claimed that this was an attack by Ukraine on its most important target to date.

The state Investigative Committee of Russia, which investigates serious crimes, released a statement in which it said that an improvised bomb had been detonated during an act terroristic, killing a soldier whom they did not identify.

Sources in the Security Service of Ukraine told a reporter that Valery Trankovsky was killed in the explosion. He was a Russian naval officer and chief of staff of 41st brigade of Russian missile ships in Black Sea.

Source: The SBU carried out the operation, as it deemed him a "legitimate target" in accordance with war laws because of the "war crimes" that he had committed. Source: He ordered missile strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine including a deadly strike in Vinnytsia, in July 2022.

Trankovsky’s exact role or involvement in alleged crimes of war could not be independently verified.

Russia used strategic bombers and warships from the Black Sea Fleet to launch missile attacks on Ukraine. These attacks have resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths as well as extensive damage. Moscow claims it doesn't target civilians or infrastructure.

The Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, cited two sources from law enforcement who identified Trankovsky as a captain of the first rank. He was described as the chief of staff, and deputy commander, of the 41st Brigade of Russian missile ships in Black Sea.

Mash, an official Telegram channel of the Russian security services, reported that he was under surveillance seven days prior to the attack.

The Kyiv source as well as Mash both said that the bomb detonated in Taras Shevchenko Street, named after Ukraine's greatest poet.

The Investigative Committee released images of a wrecked car.

'LIQUIDATED'

Since the beginning of the conflict, several pro-war Russians have been killed in assassinations that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. These include journalist Darya Dugia, war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, and former submarine captain Stanislav Rzhitsky.

All of these people, including Trankovsky were listed in Myrotvorets, a large unofficial Ukrainian database that lists people who are considered enemies of the nation.

The word "Liquidated", in red letters, was written over the photo of Trankovsky on Wednesday.

The Russian Federal Security Service (the main successor of the Soviet KGB) announced in December that it had broken up a network in Crimea consisting of Ukrainian agents who were involved with attempts to assassinate pro Russian figures.

The report said that the targets were the Moscow-installed Crimea head, Sergei Aksyonov and Oleg Tsaryov, a former prorussian member of Ukraine's parliament.

Tsaryov survived after being shot twice during an attack in Crimea in October, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014. Sources in Ukraine's SBU intelligence service told reporters at the time that this shooting was an SBU operation.

Sevastopol, the traditional Black Sea Fleet headquarters of Russia, has been heavily attacked by Ukrainian forces during the war. (Reporting and editing by Gareth Jones; Tom Balmforth)

(source: Reuters)