Putin’s Crimean navy commander ‘liquidated’ in deadly Ukrainian attack in latest humiliation for Russia

Vladimir Putin’s forces in occupied Crimea were dealt a hammer blow on Wednesday when a Ukrainian car bomb “liquidated” one of Russia’s senior naval officers.

Russian captain Valery Trankovsky was killed by an improvised explosive device hidden in his car – which Russia’s state investigative committee has labelled an act of “terrorism”.

Russia failed to name the high-ranking officer – but a Kyiv security source confirmed it was Trankovsky – the chief of staff of the 41st brigade of Russia’s missile ships in the Black Sea.

The source, from the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) said the captain, heading to work when the bomb went off, was a “legitimate” target owing to his “war crimes”.

Trankovsky had masterminded a series of missile attacks against civilian targets in Ukraine, including a deadly strike on the city of Vinnytsia in July 2022 – which killed 29 and injured over 200 – the SSU source said.

“The b*****d 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,” the source said.

Images and video from the scene show how the captain’s black SUV was practically turned inside out, with debris strewn across the road as horrified officials looked on.

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Paramedics were also seen lifting Trankovsky’s mutilated corpse into an ambulance.

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

Ukraine has hailed the bombing as one of its highest-ranking kills to date – with Trankovsky joining a chilling list of Russians eliminated since the start of the war.

The list – called Myrotvorets or Peacemaker – is a huge unofficial Ukrainian database of people considered to be enemies of the state.

On Wednesday, Trankovsky’s photo on the site was overwritten with the word “liquidated” in red lettering.

It’s not just car bombs – 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 Russia, using data from a running app on his watch.

Alongside Trankovsky, the other two assassinated Russians are thought to have been behind a series of deadly missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.