Ukrainian car bomb kills Russian navy commander in Crimea

The Telegraph: Ukraine’s intelligence service (SBU) has killed a Russian naval commander by detonating a bomb fitted underneath his car as he drove to work in occupied Crimea.

The SBU described Valery Trankovsky, the assassinated officer, as a “war criminal” who ordered missiles to be fired at civilian targets across Ukraine.

“The b------ repeatedly attacked Odesa and other peaceful cities, killing many civilians. He was an absolutely legitimate target in terms of the laws and customs of war,” an SBU source told Ukrainian media.

The source also said that Trankovsky, who was killed in the city of Sevastopol, had personally ordered ballistic missiles to be fired at the city of Vinnytsia in July 2022. The attack killed 29 people and injured more than 200.

Russia has not confirmed the death of Trankovsky, but the Kremlin-appointed mayor of Sevastopol admitted that a Russian serviceman had been killed.

Russia’s investigative committee, which handles investigations into serious crimes, said it was treating the attack as terrorism and confirmed that an improvised explosive device had exploded.

Trankovsky, who was chief of staff of the 41st missile boat brigade, had been travelling to work in a black SUV when the car bomb detonated. Video from the attack showed the driver’s and front passenger’s seats completely destroyed.

The blast had also peeled back the roof of the car, and parts of the front engine were strewn across the road. Paramedics were videoed lifting Trankovsky’s badly mutilated body into an ambulance.

“As a result of the explosion, the Russian captain’s legs were blown off and he died of blood loss,” the SBU source said.

Mash, a Telegram channel close to Russia’s security services, said the SBU had trailed Trankovsky for a week before planting its car bomb underneath the driver’s seat. It also said that the car bomb was detonated remotely. “He died from massive injuries and profuse blood loss,” it reported.

Valery Trankovsky was chief of staff of Russia’s 41st missile boat brigade

The SBU has tracked down and killed several Russian commanders responsible for missile strikes against Ukrainian cities.

Last month, a Russian air force commander was stabbed to death in woodland in Russia’s southern Bryansk region.

In July last year, a Russian submarine commander was shot dead after being tracked through a park in Krasnodar, Russia, using data from a running app on his wristwatch.

Assassinations have become an important way for Ukraine to spread fear inside Russian-occupied parts of its territory. Resistance networks have shot dead, stabbed and blown up dozens of collaborator officials.