Partisans say unpaid officer sold info that led to strike on Black Sea Fleet headquarters

Ukrainian authorities have taken responsibility for a devastating airstrike on the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol that officials in Kyiv claimed took the lives of thirty-four naval officers, including the fleet’s commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov.

However, there may be more to this story. While Ukrainian officials have admitted to the attack, authorities in the military and government have yet to explain how they knew so many Russian naval officers would be gathered in Sevastopol. 

The official answer to this question isn’t likely to come until long after the war is over but the Kyiv Post has reported that it was intelligence from an unpaid naval serviceman who may have been responsible for handing over key information. 

Ukrainian and Crimean Tatars from the partisans from the Atesh partisan movement told the Kyiv Post they obtained important information regarding the location and activities of several high-ranking Russian commands in exchange for money. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Атеш - https://web.telegram.org/z/#-1570272649, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=130470815

But it wasn’t just money alone that incentivized the unpaid Russian servicemen to hand over the sensitive information according to a spokesperson for the partisan group, it was also the individual's personal beliefs about the war. 

The alleged individual who provided the key details that may have led to the airstrike on the Sevastopol headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet apparently thought that Russia was waging a “criminal war” that needed to be stopped. 

No details were provided on how much cash changed hands according to the Kyiv Post. But it is likely Ukraine got the better end of the bargain if the money they exchanged for the information really did lead to the strike on Sevastopol. 

"After the strike on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, 34 officers died, including the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Ukraine’s special forces said in a Telegram post that was translated by Reuters. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Фёдоров Мирон Яныч - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138108501

Ukraine’s special forces also wrote that another one hundred and five military personnel were wounded in the attack and that the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters could not be restored. Reuters added the number of dead and wounded was not “immediately clear.”  

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Vadim Indeikin, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59915564

The death of thirty-four officers would be a serious blow to the Russian Navy’s prowess in the Black Sea. Moreover, taking a fleet commander off the board could prove to be a huge boost to morale for Ukrainian forces at a time when they need it most. 

Admiral Viktor Sokolov was appointed to lead Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in August 2022 after heavy losses and a string of explosions at naval facilities across Crimea prompted the Kremlin to change the leadership of the fleet. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91694870

On September 26th, video footage of Sokolov attending a remote conference with other military leaders—including Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu—was released by officials in Moscow according to BBC News. But the BBC noted the footage could have been filmed. 

Despite not knowing the ultimate fate of Admiral Sokolov, partisans operating in Crimea will continue to work the intelligence networks they cultivated so that they can help Kyiv in its goal to liberate the occupied peninsula from Russian control.

"We are liaising with various representatives of the specialist agencies, and all are equally getting the information they need that we are able to provide them,” the spokesperson from Atesh explained to the Kyiv Post. 

The Kyiv Post stated that it had confirmation from Andriy Yusov—a spokesperson from Ukraine's Main Military Directorate (GUR)—that the Ukrainian intelligence has worked with Atesh partisans and that they’ve played important roles in many airstrikes. 

In mid-September, the Kyiv Post reported that information from Atesh sources provided by servicemen inside the Black Sea Fleet provided key details to Ukraine which led to the attack and destruction of Russia’s kilo-class submarine, Rostov-on-Don.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45678291

“We managed to attract one of the military members of the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” an Atesh spokesperson told Kyiv Post. “He got up-to-date information about the placement and probable combat missions of the Rostov-on-Don submarine.”

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74849972