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Russia has published a second clip purporting to show a top naval officer alive and well, after Ukraine claimed he had been killed in a missile strike on the headquarters of Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. Ukraine’s special forces claimed on Monday that the Russian fleet’s commander, admiral Viktor Sokolov, was among 34 officers killed in the huge strike on Sevastopol, which they said had caused irreparable damage to the headquarters building. But the military body backpedalled the following day, saying its units were “clarifying the information” which had been based on open sources, adding that many of those killed in the strike “still have not been identified due to the disparity of body fragments”. Kyiv’s special forces said the clarification came after Moscow was “urgently forced to publish an answer with an apparently alive Sokolov” – a reference to footage published by Russia’s defence ministry showing Mr Sokolov appearing on a video conference call with defence minister Sergei Shoigu. Admiral Sokolov is also seen on a video screen but in a different location, with only a flag seen in the backdrop behind him. He is also not heard speaking in the video. While this appears to be a signal from Moscow that the admiral is still alive, Russia has not released any details to prove when the video conference took place. In a further twist on Wednesday, Russian defence ministry-linked outlet Zvezda published footage it claimed showed Mr Sokolov speaking to reporters while attending an award ceremony for the Chernomorets Black Sea Fleet football team. But doubts were cast over whether the footage was new, given that Mr Sokolov made no reference to the Black Sea attack in his comments. “The Black Sea Fleet confidently and successfully fulfills the tasks assigned to it by the command,” he can be heard saying in the footage, adding that the exploits of Russia’s marines “practically do not appear on the screens of central television”. While Moscow has not commented directly on Mr Solokov’s status, defence ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed on Wednesday that there was “no doubt” the attack was “planned in advance using Western intelligence means, Nato satellite assets and reconnaissance planes”. The strike on annexed Crimea “was implemented upon of the advice of American and British security agencies and in close coordination with them”, Ms Zakharova claimed. Ukraine has previously refrained from directly claiming responsibility for strikes on targets in Crimea and Russia for fear of alienating Western allies concerned that such strikes could allow Moscow to claim them as evidence of Nato-sanctioned escalation. However, Kyiv has become bolder in claiming such attacks as part of its wider counteroffensive efforts in recent months, having increased its use of domestically-produced attack drones to strike targets in Moscow, Belgorod and Crimea. In its earlier update on the Sevastopol strike, Ukraine’s special forces said the air force fired 12 missiles on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters as it targeted areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. Two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit, special forces said. Moscow-installed authorities in Sevastopol, annexed by Russia in 2014, are reported to be taking extra defensive measures in the face of Ukraine’s increased attacks on Crimea in recent days. Sevastopol is a critical region providing a platform from which Russia has launched many of its air attacks on Ukraine in the 19-month-long war. Read More Russia remains silent as Ukraine claims Black Sea Fleet commander among 34 officers killed Putin’s Black Sea fleet commander ‘killed in navy attack’ as Ukraine breakthrough triggers ‘panic’ Russia’s Lavrov rubbishes Ukraine peace plan and warns conflict will be resolved on battlefield Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin planning new ‘assault units’ despite Moscow’s ‘mobilisation issues’

A €157 million (£136 million) haul of cocaine was seized when an elite army unit stormed a cargo ship off the Irish coast. It is the largest drugs capture in Ireland’s history, police said. A total of 2,253 kg of cocaine was found on the Panamanian-registered vessel in a major joint agency operation off the south-east coast of Ireland on Tuesday. Members of the highly trained Army Ranger Wing descended from a helicopter onto the MV Matthew as it tried to sail out of Irish waters and evade capture. The elite unit boarded the ship after the Irish Naval Service’s patrol vessel, the LE William Butler Yeats, fired warning shots in its direction after it failed to obey orders. The vessel had been under surveillance since Friday when a multi-agency operation responded to intelligence of a major international drug smuggling operation. Speaking at a media briefing in Dublin on Wednesday, a senior member of the Irish police described the operation as “hugely significant”. Justin Kelly, Assistant Commissioner with An Garda Siochana, said: “I think it’s really important to note this is the largest drug seizure in the history of the state. “This is a hugely significant operation and it shows our unrelenting determination to disrupt and dismantle networks which are determined to bring drugs into our country. “These groups are transnational groups. They are working all across the world and, because of that, we need to work with our international partners.” He added: “This is a huge hit for the people involved in this.” ‘Murderous cartels’ Given the scale of the haul, Irish authorities do not believe the cocaine was solely destined for Ireland. They suspect the drugs were being transported from South America for distribution across Europe. The MV Matthew was escorted to Cork harbour on Tuesday. A fishing trawler that grounded off the coast of County Wicklow late on Sunday was also being monitored as part of the operation, amid suspicions it was en route to rendezvous with the cargo ship. The vessel remains stuck on a sandbank out at sea with poor conditions preventing the authorities from boarding and searching it. It will be treated as a crime scene when it is accessed, police said. Three people, aged 60, 50 and 31, arrested during the course of the operation, remained in custody in police stations in County Wexford on Wednesday. It has emerged that one of those arrested was medically evacuated off the MV Matthew before the military operation to seize it. About 25 remaining crew will be interviewed in Cork and police have said further arrests may follow. The operation involved the Defence Forces, customs officers and the Irish police’s national drugs and organised crime unit. Mr Kelly said the cocaine on the ship originated in South America. “This product was supplied by a South American cartel, one of the murderous cartels that are behind cocaine shipments into Europe,” he said. “A shipment like this into Europe is partly destined for the Irish market. “Obviously, with the size and intelligence we have, we know the organised crime group behind this comprises a number of different elements across Europe.” Asked if those on the cargo ship had tried to dispose of the cocaine by burning it or throwing it overboard, Mr Kelly said more information on this would be provided in the coming days. He said such a large shipment would not have entered the state’s waters without the involvement of an Irish gang. He said there are a number of gangs in Ireland with “direct links to South America”. “There is no large ship like this coming into our waters or our ports or transiting across our country, without an Irish organised criminal group involved in it. “There is an increase in the amount of cocaine available for a number of geopolitical reasons in South America. There is basically a glut of cocaine on the market,” he said. “And when you combine that with the increased consumption across Europe, Europe is now the biggest market for cocaine in the world. “So when you combine those two things together, absolutely, it’s inevitable that we’re going to see organised criminal groups trying to leverage on that, make more money from it, as they always do in situations like this. “It’s inevitable that we’ll see more large shipments.” He said increased large shipments had also been seen in Antwerp and Rotterdam. ‘Great deal of skill’ Commander Tony Geraghty, fleet operations officer of the Irish Naval Service, explained why warning shots were fired at the cargo vessel before the boarding operation. “The merchant ship refused to follow the instructions of our own ship,” he said. “So this was prior to the insertion of the Army Ranger Wing. “There was an escalated use of force used to compel the vessel to follow the instructions of the ship’s captain.” Cdr Geraghty said it had been an extremely complex joint operation involving the Naval Service, the Air Corps, the Army Ranger Wing and Defence Forces headquarters. He said the poor weather made the fast rope aerial boarding more complex. He said there was no evidence of the crew being armed when the Army Rangers boarded and took control of the vessel. “This ship is very large, she’s 190 metres long, with an exceptionally high freeboard. So very difficult to get on,” he added. He said a “great deal of skill” was demonstrated by the Army Ranger Wing and helicopter pilot during high winds. Read More British Airways pilot sacked and banned from cockpit after cocaine binge before flight UK’s first drug consumption room enabling supervised injection approved Teacher arrested after students find meth stash inside hair scrunchie during ‘family fun night’ Cocaine haul worth 157 million euro is biggest drug seizure in Ireland’s history Suspected cocaine worth 157 million euro found in Ireland’s biggest drug seizure ‘Danger to life’ warning activated in Britain - live

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