THIS is the moment a huge Ukrainian car bomb killed one of Vladimir Putin’s top commanders in a fiery inferno.
The graphic video showed how the Russian naval commander Captain Valery Trankovsky was blown up, according to the country’s Federal Security Service.
A top Russian naval commander was killed in a car bombing in occupied Sevastopol[/caption]
Russian authorities accused Ukraine of planting the bomb[/caption]
Captain Valery Trankovsky, 47, was killed[/caption]
Trankovsky , 47, was killed after his black Chevrolet Cruze drove over a road bump in occupied naval port Sevastopol in Crimea.
The commander was pulled out of the blazing car but he died.
Trankovsky’s legs had blasted off in the explosion and he died from “combined injuries and profuse blood loss.”
The commander has been the highest-ranking naval officer to be killed on the edge of Russia since the invasion started.
Trankovsky was the chief of staff of Vladimir Putin’s 41st brigade of missile ships and boats of the Black Sea Fleet.
The marine leader was previously accused by Ukraine of ordering naval missile strikes against civilians.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the 47-year-old’s death, on 13 November.
Vitaly Kulchitsky, 47, has been accused of planting the device on the vehicle.
His female accomplice, who was not named, was accused of spying on the car.
The duo were also charged with working for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
The pair were also recorded by the Russian Federal Security Service as they appeared to admit their involvement in the plot.
A man, whose face was blurred, said he was originally from Lviv, Ukraine, but held a Russian passport.
He said: “My task was to liquidate a high-ranking serviceman in the city of Sevastopol.”
The detainee also said he planted the bomb under the car the night before and added that he had been recruited by the SBU.
An arrested woman claimed she was enlisted to the SBU while she was on holiday in the region.
She added: “When I arrived in Sevastopol on holiday, the [SBU] controller sent me a photo and the number of the car.
“I only watched it, what time it appeared, and what time it left.”
A Russian Federal Security Service’s source said Trankovsky was a “legitimate” target.
The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, issued a warning to those involved in Trankovsky’s death.
He said: “Non-humans, who dared to do this, await an obvious finale.”
EDGE OF WAR
The war between the two nations has intensified as Putin confirmed Russia was struck by long-range missiles fired by Ukraine.
This has been the first time Ukraine has used these weapons after Joe Biden lifted his ban on them for Volodymyr Zelenksy’s troops.
Kyiv used them to blitz a military depot storing ammunition and anti-aircraft missiles.
Graphic images showed the aftermath of the car bomb[/caption]
Trankovsky was previously accused by Ukraine of ordering naval missile strikes against civilians[/caption]