General Valery Gerasimov with Vladimir Putin
* Gerasimov has not been seen since December 29 at a military award ceremony
Russia has yet to comment on a swirl of unconfirmed rumours that Vladimir Putin's top war commander General Valery Gerasimov was killed in a strike on a military command post in Crimea on Thursday.
An explosion and a trail of smoke were visible in a clip of a suspected Storm Shadow strike at the military site in Yukharin Balka. Another target in the village of Uyutnoye, near Yevpatoria was also reportedly hit.
A flow of ambulances was reported by Ukrainian sources at both locations, and Putin-appointed Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said: 'It was the most massive [attack] in recent times.'
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Update: Was Putin's Top General Gerasimov Killed in Crimea Attack? What We Know (Newsweek)
WNU Editor: If General Valery Gerasimov was killed in a strike on a military command post in Crimea yesterday, we would have know about it today. He is vital to the war effort, and commanders below him will be making their concerns to their subordinates on why he is not available, and these subordinates will in turn be leaking this information out.
So why has he disappeared for the past 10 days? He does have a habit of going missing before a big offensive or operation is launched .... Top Putin general Valery Gerasimov's habit of going missing as death rumours swirl - again (Express).