Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly fired his Navy chief in response to a series of “embarrassing” Ukrainian attacks against the Black Sea Fleet.
Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, who has led the Russian Navy since May 3, 2019, has been “dismissed and will be replaced” by Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, according to the Kremlin-backed publication Izvestia.
The paper’s three-paragraph piece provided limited information regarding the transfer, other than mentioning another high-level personnel reorganization in April 2023, when Admiral Viktor Liina of the Baltic Fleet succeeded Admiral Sergei Avakyants as head of the Pacific Fleet.
If verified, Yevmenov’s dismissal would represent the largest shake-up in Russia’s military hierarchy since Sergei Surovikin was fired last year. A former commander of Russian troops in Ukraine and former air force chief, Surovikin was demoted from the latter role following his probable involvement in the sensational coup orchestrated by Wagner chief Evgeny Prigozhin, who later died under mysterious circumstances.
Since Moscow began its full-scale assault in February 2022, Ukrainian troops claim to have destroyed more than two dozen Russian ships, including a naval patrol boat this week. Russia has been compelled to relocate ships from the Sevastopol naval base in the annexed Crimea to the port of Novorossiysk, which is farther east, as a result of the sinkings.
The purported reorganization, which would normally be publicized by presidential order, elicited no response from the Kremlin. “I am not allowed to comment on directives that are classified as secret”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that “there were no public decrees on this issue,”
As of Monday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry’s website still lists Yevmenov as the commander of the Navy.
