Vladimir Putin is thought to have sacked the commander of the Black Sea Fleet just a day after Ukraine sunk another Russian warship.
Russian chief, Admiral Viktor Sokolov has now been replaced by the Kremlin, according to claims made by a number of pro-war bloggers on the Telegram.
Blogger Rybar - who has 1.2 million subscribers - claimed Sokolov had been replaced, while similar channels Osvedomitel and Dva Mayora said the sinking of the Caesar Kunikov was the "last straw" for Sokolov’s bosses.
According to fourth blogger, Roman Saponkov, the loss of 20 per cent of the Black Sea Fleet was blamed on Sokolov.
Vladimir Putin is said to have sacked the commander of the Black Sea Fleet just a day after Ukraine allegedly sunk another Russian warshipGettyIf reports prove correct, author and military expert Iain Ballantyne says it suggests Russia's operations in key strategic waterways has been a "grave systemic failure".
"I am loathe to comment on this specific case as we do not know the full inside details, or much at all to be honest," Ballantyne told The Express.
"Russian official sources have not confirmed this officer's sacking. But, in general historically, when the fleet you command loses a number of ships, then as the overall boss you have to carry the can.
"That's because the causes, while partly a result of bad luck or cutting edge enemy tech - for which there may be no adequate counter-measures fitted to a vessel - there is also a possibility that it is down to defective training."
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State-aligned Russian news website The Insider claims Solokov has been replaced with Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk, Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet and his former deputy.
Ballantyne suggests "defective training" could have led to "slack vigilance" in high risk zones and a failure to impose operational doctrine which could have avoided such catastrophic losses.
He added: "The Fleet Commander, is charged with over-seeing all of that - via subordinates whom he must inspire and manage to ensure that during a conflict the crews of warships are best prepared and have the right Commanding Officers at sea.
"The buck always stops with the fleet boss - even if he is not directly to blame.
Author and military expert Iain Ballantyne says if reports of the sacking prove true, it suggests Russia's operations in key strategic waterways has been a 'grave systemic failure'
Reuters"To lose so many vessels in recent months to sea drones suggests a grave systemic failure in the Black Sea Fleet.
“More details on this latest loss, and earlier ones, will emerge in time of course and only then will we know the exact case and precisely who was truly to blame, other than the Ukrainians of course, who have proven masters at using sea drones to destroy enemy ships."
Sokolov has been the chief of a naval academy in St Petersburg since 2020.
He has also held other senior roles in the Russian navy.