Aleksandr Vitko (13 September 1961-) was the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from 15 April 2013.
Biography[]
Aleksandr Vitko was born on 13 September 1961 in Vitebsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union. Vitko graduated from the Nakhimov Naval School in 1984 and served in the Russian Pacific Fleet before becoming deputy commander of the Russian Northern Fleet from 2009 to 2013. On 15 April 2013, Vitko was given command of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and in 2014 he took part in the Crimean Crisis as an ally of the Crimean separatists, and on 4 March he led the assault on Crimea by unmarked Russian troops. The Russian government claimed that he had acted in strict compliance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreement about the basing of the Russian Navy in Ukraine.