Death of Ukrainian submarine traitor Shaheiev in Sevastopol blast confirmed
The Book of Executioners project has confirmed that Robert Shaheiev, the former commander of Ukraine's only submarine who defected to Russia in 2014, was killed in an explosion in Sevastopol on 13 August.
The Book of Executioners, a Ukrainian project tracking Russian war criminals and Ukrainians who betrayed their country, has confirmed the death of Robert Shaheiev, once commander of Ukraine's sole submarine, the Zaporizhzhia, who defected to Russia during the 2014 occupation of Crimea.
The confirmation is based on Russian Federal Tax Service records, in which Shaheiev's taxpayer identification number has reportedly appeared in a registry of invalidated numbers — treated as the first official sign of his death. Unverified reports of an attempt on his life in Sevastopol had circulated earlier but had not previously been confirmed.
Betrayal in 2014
According to the project, Shaheiev handed the Zaporizhzhia over to Russian forces without resistance during the occupation of Crimea in 2014, breaking his military oath, and subsequently served in Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
Born on 21 February 1977 in Crimea, Shaheiev had served in Ukraine's armed forces since 1999 and held the rank of Captain First Rank. He was appointed commander of the Zaporizhzhia in October 2013. When Russia's occupation of Crimea began in spring 2014, he ignored orders to relocate his unit to Odesa and failed to report to his new post by the required deadline. He refused to sail the submarine to mainland Ukraine and announced his intention to serve in the Russian military.
He was removed from his command post on 17 May 2014. After signing a contract with Russia's armed forces, he became deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet's 4th Separate Submarine Brigade. Ukrainian authorities had charged him with desertion and treason.
The Sevastopol explosion
On the morning of 13 August, an explosion in occupied Sevastopol killed a military serviceman, reportedly caused by a device placed in a rubbish bin. Telegram channels on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides speculated at the time that the victim could be Shaheiev — a claim now confirmed by the Book of Executioners project.
