The chief of staff for missile ships in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was reportedly killed in a car bombing in Sevastopol, according to a source connected to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), as reported by Liga. The SBU and the Defense Ministry’s HUR have been focusing on Russian officers and collaborators in occupied regions who have allegedly committed war crimes. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian partisan and intelligence units have been linked to targeted operations against high-ranking Russian officials and key collaborators.

The Russian Telegram channel Baza initially reported that a car exploded on a Sevastopol highway, apparently due to an explosive device. The driver, later identified as a 47-year-old Russian Black Sea Fleet Captain of the 1st Rank, “Valery T.,” was killed despite attempts by witnesses to assist. The car, identified as an SUV, was parked near a shop on Taras Shevchenko Street, with an IED suspected to have detonated inside.

A source from the SBU revealed that Trankovskyi, commander of the 41st Brigade of missile ships, was targeted in the SBU-led operation. The explosion caused severe injuries, reportedly severing his legs, and he died from blood loss. According to the SBU source, Trankovskyi was responsible for ordering Kalibr missile strikes from the Black Sea against Ukrainian targets, including the July 2022 strike on Vinnytsia, which killed 29 civilians. His involvement in multiple attacks on Odesa and other civilian areas made him, in the source's words, a "legitimate target under the laws and customs of war."

Russian sources indicated that Trankovskyi was under surveillance for about a week prior to the remotely detonated attack. The SBU source commented on the symbolism of his death on Taras Shevchenko Street, framing it as inevitable retribution, adding that no war criminal should feel safe.