The names of those killed in Syria. At the forefront of the resistance. Brother died while performing military duty in Syria

home This week it became known about three Russians killed in Syria. This is 23-year-old Ivan Slyshkin, a native Chelyabinsk region , Togliatti resident Vasily Yurlin and Artem Gorbunov. The first two, according to the activist group Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which studies the activities of the Russian military in Syria, were mercenaries of a private military company, the so-called "".

PMC Wagner Gorbunov was a soldier from the 96th separate brigade intelligence based in Nizhny Novgorod

. Only his death was officially confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense: “Artem Gorbunov died on March 2 in the Palmyra area while repelling an attempt to break through by a group of ISIS militants into the positions of Syrian troops, where Russian military advisers were located,” the department’s press service said in a statement.

Four at once

On February 16, 2017, according to the official statement of the Ministry of Defense, four Russian soldiers were killed and two more were wounded. The Tiger armored vehicle they were driving was blown up by a radio-controlled landmine, the Kommersant newspaper reports, citing sources close to the Defense Ministry.

Since September 2015, when Russia began its military operation in Syria, 34 people have been killed in this Middle Eastern country, according to DW estimates. This is official data. Unofficial - higher. DW has compiled a list of confirmed and unconfirmed casualties among Russians in Syria.

Losses of 2016 In 2016, according to official data, losses amounted to 25 people. On December 7, the Ministry of Defense announced the death of Colonel Ruslan Galitsky, who commanded the 5th Guards in Russia tank brigade

in Ulan-Ude, and in Syria he was a military adviser. He was wounded during the shelling of one of the Aleppo neighborhoods by Syrian militants and later died from his wounds in hospital. On the same days, two military nurses died - Nadezhda Durachenko and Galina Mikhailova. December 5 at emergency department

A mobile hospital in Aleppo was hit by mines. 12 August from social network

On August 1, 2016, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter had been shot down in Idlib province. “There were three crew members and two officers on board,” the department said. The names of the dead were named by Ekho Moskvy and Gazeta.ru, citing a source in the Ministry of Defense: they are 33-year-old crew commander Roman Pavlov, navigator Oleg Shelamov and flight engineer Alexey Shorokhov. The names of the two dead officers are unknown.

On July 22, 2016, 23-year-old contract soldier Nikita Shevchenko from Birobidzhan died. According to the Ministry of Defense, he was accompanying a humanitarian cargo. He was posthumously presented to state award.

On July 8, 2016, the commander of the 55th was killed separate regiment Army Aviation Colonel Ryafagat Khabibullin and instructor pilot Evgeniy Dolgin. Their helicopter was shot down during a combat mission.

On June 15, 2016, Marine Andrei Timoshenkov was killed in Homs province. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, Timoshenkov “prevented a car filled with explosives from breaking through to the place of issue humanitarian aid civilians." On June 7, 2016, junior sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas died in Moscow from wounds received during shelling of a Russian convoy in Syria.

On May 11, 2016, Anton Erygin, a native of Voronezh, died from severe wounds. On April 12, 2016, it crashed near Homs Russian helicopter Mi-28N, two crew members Andrei Okladnikov and Viktor Pankov from Syzran were killed.

On March 17, 2016, he died near Palmyra Russian officer special forces Alexander Prokhorenko from Orenburg region. According to the Ministry of Defense, he was carrying out reconnaissance missions in the Palmyra area when he was surrounded.

On February 1, 2016, Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Cheremisin died. According to the Ministry of Defense, Cheremisin worked in Syria as a military adviser.

First victims

Special attention was linked to the death of pilot Oleg Peshkov, whose Su-24 was shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter with an air-to-air missile near the Syrian-Turkish border in the province of Latakia. This happened
November 24, 2015 and led to .

On the same day, a marine from Novocherkassk, Alexander Pozynich, died trying to save the crew of a Su-24 shot down by a Turkish fighter. During the rescue operation, his Mi-8 helicopter was shot down and made an emergency landing. Pozynich received a shrapnel wound to the neck and died.

On November 19, 2015, captain 27-year-old Fedor Zhuravlev from the Bryansk region died. At the funeral, Zhuravlev’s commander told his relatives that he had died during a special operation against militants in Kabardino-Balkaria. But later it was officially confirmed that Zhuravlev died in Syria, and he was posthumously awarded the Order of Kutuzov.

On October 24, 2015, contract soldier Vadim Kostenko died. The official version of the death of the Ministry of Defense is that he committed suicide at the Khmeimim airbase due to a disagreement “in his personal relationship with his girlfriend.” But both the parents and the girl don’t believe it.

Losses associated with Syria

These include 51-year-old serviceman Sergei Chupov from Balashikha near Moscow. The Russian authorities have not officially confirmed his death in Syria; his widow claims that he died on the border with Ukraine, while helping one of his friends move. Chupov’s colleagues and activists from CIT insist on the “Syrian” version.

On December 8, 37-year-old Major Sanal Sanchirov from Kalmykia died near Palmyra. The sister claims that she saw the death certificate, which recorded the death of Sanchirov as a result of mortar shelling in Palmyra. There is no reliable information about the death of Vadim Tumakov from the Orenburg region. Local publications claim that he died in Syria. Officially, he was not an active serviceman: it is possible that Tumakov was a mercenary.

Probably mercenaries

There are only tentative estimates of losses among Russians who went to fight in Syria for hire. In March 2016, at the instigation of IS terrorists, a photograph of five allegedly dead Russian servicemen circulated on the Internet. But there is still no official data about them. The total losses among the mercenaries, according to various estimates, number in the dozens.

Context

Such activities abroad Russian President actually legalized it at the end of 2016, amending the law “On military duty And military service". It is believed that the most important role The so-called “Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner” plays a role in organizing the sending of mercenaries to Syria. There is no official information about her. It is believed that it is led by Dmitry Utkin (“Wagner” is the call sign of reserve lieutenant colonel Utkin). He took part in one of the special receptions in the Kremlin for military personnel who distinguished themselves by their special heroism. From this we can conclude that his current activities, about which nothing is publicly known, are valued Russian authorities.

The last death of mercenaries in Syria on March 7 was probably recorded by CIT activists. It's about about Vasily Yurlin from Togliatti. Friends of the deceased on the social network vk.com say that the funeral is scheduled for March 8. The news about Yurlin's death was posted by the city veterans organization. There are no official reports on this matter.

See also:

• Observing the enemy

  The enemy must be out there somewhere. Kurdish fighter Hazeba Nauzad looks through binoculars near the Iraqi city of Mosul, observing the front line separating Kurdish territory from the area captured by militants." Islamic State"(IG).



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

At the forefront of the resistance

The enemy has been detected - you can open fire. Khazeba Nauzad and her fighting friends take aim at IS militants. Air strikes alone cannot defeat the jihadists, so Yazidi and Kurdish women are helping to fight against ISIS on the ground.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

Clear visibility

Khazeba Nauzad puts her hair in a ponytail: in order to aim better, nothing should block her view. An attribute of Western fashion, the military style in Iraq and Syria is a reflection of the bitter reality.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

Faithful companion

Azema Dahir during a break between fights. The red teddy bear is her faithful companion and a reminder of peacetime, which suddenly ended with the arrival of ISIS in the summer of 2014. Then many Yazidi women had to say goodbye to everything that was dear to them. Thousands of them have been kidnapped and abused by IS militants.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

Looking for refuge

ISIS terrorists do not spare even the weakest. In the summer of 2014, hundreds of thousands of Yazidis, ruthlessly persecuted by jihadists, were forced to leave their homes. Two years ago, this photo of an elderly man became a symbol of the suffering of the Yazidis, a religious minority in Iraq who were victims of the Islamic State.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

Trauma for life

This 15-year-old Yazidi girl did not want to show her face. Jihadists kidnapped her in the summer of 2014 and forcibly married her to an IS militant. Two months later she managed to escape. She now lives with her family again and talks about the horrors of her experience.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

After the battle

For many months, jihadists occupied the city of Kobane in northern Syria, right on the border with Turkey. The Kurds desperately held their defense. With the help of the American Air Force, the IS militants were defeated. However, the terrorists left only ruins here.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

Friendship as a symbol of victory

IS terrorists destroy everyone who does not share their ideology. They are trying to pit people of different faiths and nationalities against each other. However, they do not always succeed. The friendship between Kurdish and Yazidi women was a symbolic victory over ISIS.



Photo gallery: Women with weapons against ISIS

Fight for freedom

Possess military victory It has not yet succeeded in overcoming ISIS. The militants are in control large territories in Syria and Iraq. However, Kurdish and Yazidi women continue to fight, in part to prove that women are not slaves.

Back in mid-2015, Russia's first large-scale military operation began outside the borders of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. IN civil war Syria and its President Bashar al-Assad were supported by the Aerospace Forces, Navy and special forces.

According to official sources, twenty-two Russian military personnel have died to date, seventeen of whom died while President Russian Federation signed a decree on the withdrawal of the bulk of Russian troops from Syria. This is what is known according to the official source. For obvious reasons, the Russian authorities are silent about the hired soldiers who died in Syria, and also greatly downplay the losses of personnel. As it became known, the dead are not only buried secretly, but also relatives are forbidden to say anything to journalists. This is exactly the situation that developed during the war in Afghanistan. At the same time, Igor Konashenkov, who is a representative of the Ministry of Defense, commented on this situation and stated that there were and cannot be any secret burial places of Russian military personnel who died in Syria.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs still has not announced the exact number of deaths. According to official data, there are supposedly 34 Russian military deaths in Syria, but other sources have leaked information that 40 Russians have been killed since the beginning of 2017 alone. Why is there such a difference in the numbers, and what is the government of the Russian Federation hiding from people? The fact is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs only talks about the losses of professional military personnel, but not about hired ones. Therefore, different sources have different figures. Official list of Russian military personnel who died in Syria.

Private from Krasnodar region Kostenko Vadim (19 years old). Captain from the Bryansk region Zhuravlev Fedor (27 years old). Lieutenant Colonel from Altai Territory Peshkov Oleg (45 years old). Lieutenant Colonel from the Irkutsk region Cheremisinovo Ivan (42 years old). Sailor from Rostov region Pozynich Alexander (29 years old). Senior lieutenant from the Orenburg region Alexander Prokhorenko (25 years old). Senior lieutenant from the Chelyabinsk region Viktor Pankov ( exact age unknown). Sergeant from Voronezh Erygin Anton (31 years old). Junior sergeant from the Amur region Mikhail Shirokopoyas (35 years old). Sergeant from Kirov region Tymoshenko to Andrey (28 years old). Colonel Khabibullin Ryafagat from the Ulyanovsk region (51 years old). Lieutenant from Saratov region Long Evgeniy (24 years old). Private from the Jewish Autonomous region Shevchenko Nikita (24 years old). Major from Kabardino-Balkaria Bizhoev Askar (23 years old). Captain from Ufa Pavlov Roman (23 years old). Senior lieutenant from the Tver region Oleg Shelamov (29 years old). Captain Shorokhov Alexey (41 years old). Moshkina (Durachenko) Nadezhda from Birobidzhan (40 years old). Mikhailova Galina from Birobidzhan (39 years old). Colonel from Buryatia Galitsky Ruslan.

Also among the dead are two military men, whose names are unknown to this day. Let us remind you that these are official data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation; in fact, there are much more deaths in Syria.

Since September 30, 2015, at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia has been monitoring terrorist targets in Syria. In March 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to withdraw most of the Russian group VKS in connection with successful implementation tasks. On December 11, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal Russian troops from Syria, who had been there since September 2015 at the request of Damascus. However, on the territory of an Arab republic.

2018

On May 27, when shelled by militants in the province of Deir ez-Zor in Syria. Two Russian military advisers who controlled the fire of the Syrian battery died on the spot. Five Russian servicemen were wounded and were quickly taken to a military hospital. Two of them could not be saved.

On May 7, while performing a scheduled flight over eastern regions Syrian Russian Ka-52 helicopter. Both pilots died, their bodies were found and taken to the airfield. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the incident could have been caused by a technical malfunction.

On May 3 there was a disaster in Syria Russian fighter Su-30SM. The accident occurred over the water area Mediterranean Sea, when the fighter was gaining altitude after takeoff from the Khmeimim airfield. Both pilots, who fought for the plane until the last minutes,...

On March 6, a Russian An-26 military transport plane crashed while landing at the Syrian Khmeimim airfield. As a result of the tragedy, one of whom was with the rank of major general, as well as warrant officers and military personnel contract service. All of them were servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces.

On February 3, a Russian Su-25 plane was shot down in the Syrian province of Idlib, the pilot managed to eject, but died, an organization banned in Russia, Jabhat al-Nusra*.

On January 3, it became known that a Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashed in Syria 15 kilometers from Hama airfield. Both pilots were killed. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the tragedy was not caused by any fire impact on the Mi-24.

2017

On October 10, pilot Yuri Medvedkov and navigator Yuri Kopylov were killed in Syria. To carry out a combat mission, the Russian Su-24 aircraft they were flying was destroyed while accelerating for takeoff from the Khmeimim airfield.

On October 2, Russian Colonel Valery Fedyanin, who was wounded in Syria, died. Officer when terrorists detonated a landmine under the car in which Fedyanin was delivering humanitarian aid in the Syrian province of Hama.

On September 25, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Lieutenant General Valery Asapov was attacked by terrorists from the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia*. Asapov was the senior group of Russian military advisers and was at the command post of Syrian troops fighting in the area of ​​​​the city of Deir ez-Zor. During a mortar attack by terrorists, the general was mortally wounded.

On September 4, it became known that two Russian contract soldiers were killed in Syria as a result of mortar fire by militants of the terrorist group “Islamic State”*, banned in Russia. Military convoy Russian Center on reconciliation in the province of Deir ez-Zor.

On July 10, during a mortar attack by terrorists in the Syrian province of Hama, while on duty, a native of the city of Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Region, 33-year-old military adviser Captain Nikolai Afanasov.

On May 3, in Syria, saving a comrade from terrorists, Captain Evgeniy Konstantinov, who, as a military adviser, helped the command of the Syrian army in training and educating military personnel.

On April 20, it became known that Russian military adviser Major Sergei Bordov died in Syria during a militant attack on a military garrison. The officer involved in training Syrian units prevented terrorists from breaking into a residential town, taking command of the Syrian military personnel. During the battle, Sergei Bordov.

On April 11, it became known that two Russian servicemen were in Syria and another was wounded. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian contract servicemen, who were in one of the units of the Syrian army as rifle training instructors together with an officer - a Russian military adviser, were subjected to mortar fire from a group of militants.

On March 2, contract service private Artem Gorbunov, who was performing tasks in Syria to protect a group of Russian military advisers, in the Palmyra area while repelling an attempt to break through by a group of IS* militants into the positions of Syrian troops where the military advisers were located.

On February 20, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that four Russian servicemen were killed and two were wounded in Syria when a car was blown up by a radio-controlled landmine on February 16. A convoy of Syrian troops, in which a car with Russian military advisers was traveling, was traveling from the area of ​​the Tiyas airfield in the direction of the city of Homs. When the convoy drove about four kilometers, a radio-controlled charge went off under the car in which the Russian military personnel were located.

2016

On December 8, according to media reports, in the Palmyra area, when radical Islamists began fighting to return the city to their control, the commander was killed air assault battalion a native of Kalmykia, Major Sanal Sanchirov. December 13 Sanal Sanchirov.

On December 7, it became known that Russian military adviser Colonel Ruslan Galitsky died from wounds received during artillery shelling by militants of the so-called “opposition” of one of the residential areas of Aleppo. Military doctors fought for the officer’s life for several days, but failed to save him. Galitsky was part of a group of advisers who carry out tasks in Syria. The command of Colonel Galitsky to a high state award posthumously.

On December 5, as a result of artillery shelling of a Russian mobile military hospital deployed in Syrian Aleppo: foreman Nadezhda Vladimirovna Durachenko, junior sergeant Galina Viktorovna Mikhailova, a professor of the Department of Childhood Diseases of the Military Medical Academy named after. Kirova Arsentiev Vadim Gennadievich. As a result of the shelling, local residents who arrived for the reception were also injured. The Russian Ministry of Defense regards the incident as a planned murder, for which its patrons in the West are also responsible.

On August 1, the Russian Aerospace Forces Mi-8 helicopter, which carried out humanitarian mission, was shot down in the Syrian province of Idlib. On board were three crew members and two officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation. According to official information received from the Russian Ministry of Defense, they all died heroically while trying to steal the car away.

On July 22, it became known that Russian private Nikita Shevchenko died in the Syrian province of Aleppo while performing a mission to escort a convoy of vehicles from the Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties. Shevchenko followed in a car accompanying the convoy with food and water for local residents. At the entrance to locality a homemade device planted by militants went off near the car explosive device. Russian military doctors are on the spot, but they could not save him.

On July 8, Russian military instructor pilots Ryafagat Khabibulin and Evgeniy Dolgin died in Syria during a flight over Palmyra.

As the ministry clarified, on that day a large detachment of militants from the terrorist organization “Islamic State”*, banned in the Russian Federation, attacked the positions of Syrian troops east of Palmyra. Having broken through the defenses, the terrorists were able to capture the dominant heights. At this time, Khabibulin and Dolgin were flying over a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter. Crew commander Khabibulin decided to attack the terrorists. The terrorists are attacking thanks to the competent actions of the Russian crew. The helicopter crew died.

On June 19, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the death in Syria of a serviceman guarding a humanitarian convoy of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties. Sergeant Andrei Timoshenkov died after stopping a car filled with explosives, in which a suicide bomber was trying to break through to the place where humanitarian aid was distributed to residents of Homs province. When the car explodes, Andrei himself.

In May, while performing a combat mission in Syria. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.

On May 11, it became known that in the province of Homs, while carrying out tasks to escort vehicles of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties, Russian serviceman Anton Erygin was seriously injured as a result of shelling by militants. Immediately after, he was taken to the hospital, where military doctors spent two days, but they could not save Anton Yerygin.

In the first half of May, a Russian contract soldier, junior sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas, was wounded in the province of Aleppo. He was supposed to stay in Syria for three months. Military doctors promptly treated the serviceman medical care, he was taken to a military clinical hospital in Moscow by a special aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defense. June 7 Mikhail Shirokopoyas.

On April 12, a helicopter of the Russian armed forces Mi-28N " Night Hunter"crashed in Syria near the city of Homs. As a result of the crash.

According to media reports, the dead pilots were graduates of the Syzran Higher Military aviation school pilots: commander Andrei Okladnikov, born in 2000, and navigator Viktor Pankov, born in 2011. Before the mission to Syria, the helicopter crew served in the 487th separate helicopter regiment in Budennovsk, Stavropol Territory.

March 24, Russian Ministry of Defense in Syria. Senior Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko died while directing airstrikes against terrorists near Palmyra. The officer called fire on himself when he was discovered and surrounded by militants. By decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prokhorenko was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for the courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty. The body of the deceased officer Prokhorenko was taken to Russia, the officer was buried in the village of Gorodki, Tyulgansky district.

On February 1, as a result of a mortar attack by Islamic State terrorists* on a military garrison where one of the Syrian army units was stationed, a Russian military adviser was mortally wounded. The name of a military adviser killed in Syria. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the name of the deceased - Ivan Cheremisin.

2015

November 25, Russian officer Fyodor Zhuravlev, who died while performing his military duty in Syria, Bryansk region. Fyodor Zhuravlev was a gunner whose task was to coordinate airstrikes Russian Air Force. He gave his life while guiding long-range strategic aviation missiles.

On November 24, a Russian Su-24 was over Syrian territory. The crew commander and navigator managed to eject before the plane crashed. Commander Oleg Peshkov died as a result of gunfire from militants from the ground during landing, navigator Konstantin Murakhtin was rescued by a search and rescue group of Russian infantry with fire support Syrian special forces. During the rescue operation, Marine Alexander Pozynich died.

*Terrorist and extremist organizations prohibited in Russia

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti

On April 11, the Ministry of Defense announced the death of two contract soldiers in Syria. Thus, from the moment military operation In Syria, according to confirmed data, 30 people were killed.

On April 11, 2017, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the death of two Russian military personnel. According to the department, they died as a result of a militant attack.

On March 6, 2017, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the death of Russian serviceman Artem Gorbunov. Earlier, Gorbunov’s wife, Sophia, said that on March 2 he died in Syria during the operation to capture Palmyra.

On February 20, 2017, the Ministry of Defense reported the death of four and the injury of two Russian soldiers. Their car was blown up.

On December 7, 2016, the Ministry of Defense announced the death of Colonel Ruslan Galitsky. During the shelling of one of the Aleppo neighborhoods by militants, he was wounded.

On December 5, 2016, two Russian military nurses, Nadezhda Durachenko and Galina Mikhailova, died as a result of a direct mine hit in the emergency room of a mobile hospital in Aleppo.

On August 1, 2016, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down in Idlib province. Five were killed - three crew members and two officers. ​The helicopter was returning after completing a humanitarian mission.

The wreckage of a downed Russian Mi-8 helicopter in Idlib province (Photo: Reuters/Pixstream)

In May 2016, serviceman Asker Bizhoev died while performing a combat mission. He was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

On July 22, 2016, contract soldier Nikita Shevchenko was killed while performing a combat mission in the Aleppo region. He was nominated for a state award posthumously.

On July 8, 2016, the commander of the 55th separate army aviation regiment, Colonel Ryafagat Khabibullin, and instructor pilot Evgeny Dolgin died when the helicopter they were flying was shot down from the ground.

On June 15, 2016, Andrei Timoshenkov died in Homs province. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense, Timoshenkov “prevented the breakthrough of a car filled with explosives to the place where humanitarian aid was distributed to the civilian population.”

On June 7, 2016, junior sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas died in Moscow from wounds received during shelling of a Russian convoy in Syria.

On May 11, 2016, Anton Erygin died. He was seriously injured on May 9 while escorting vehicles from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties.

On April 12, 2016, a Russian Mi-28N helicopter crashed near Homs, killing two crew members Andrei Okladnikov and Viktor Pankov. The Ministry of Defense stated that the helicopter was not shot down, and the results of the investigation were not presented.

On March 17, 2016, Russian special forces officer Alexander Prokhorenko died near Palmyra. His death was announced by the Ministry of Defense on March 24. According to the department, the serviceman was performing reconnaissance missions in the Palmyra area when he was surrounded and caused fire on himself.

Farewell ceremony for Senior Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko, Hero of Russia, who died in Syria in the village of Gorodki, Tyulgansky district (Photo: Sergey Medvedev/TASS)

On February 1, 2016, military adviser Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Cheremisin died. According to the Ministry of Defense, Cheremisin was in Syria as a military adviser.

On November 24, 2015, Marine Alexander Pozynich died during an operation to rescue the crew of a Su-24 shot down by a Turkish fighter. During the operation, one of the Mi-8 helicopters carrying troops was shot down and made an emergency landing. Pozynich received a shrapnel wound to the neck and died.

On November 24, 2015, Su-24 crew commander Oleg Peshkov died. The plane was shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter with an air-to-air missile near the Syrian-Turkish border in the province of Latakia.

Memorial plaque in memory of the commander of the Su-24 bomber Oleg Peshkov, who died in Syria, installed on the monument to military glory near the village of Vozzhaevka (Photo: Sergey Lazovsky/TASS)

On November 19, 2015, captain Fyodor Zhuravlev died. At the funeral, Zhuravlev’s commander told his relatives that he had died during a special operation against militants in Kabardino-Balkaria.

During Putin’s meeting with military personnel returning from Syria on March 17, the soldier’s widow was presented with awards. Later, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Reuters the fact of Zhuravlev’s death in Syria.

On October 24, 2015, contract soldier Vadim Kostenko died. The official version of death is that he committed suicide at the Khmeimim airbase due to a disagreement “in his personal relationship with his girlfriend.” This version was reported to the Ministry of Defense the day before the funeral.