"The guys burned alive." What is known about the death of the Russian military in Syria

On Sunday morning, May 27, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the deaths of four Russian soldiers in Syria in the middle of last week. According to the ministry, the Russian military advisers who controlled the fire of the Syrian artillery battery were killed as a result of the attack by "terrorists". Two Russians died immediately, five more were wounded, two of the wounded later died in the hospital. At the same time, according to the reports of the Russian regional media and independent investigators, there were at least six dead. Their names and surnames are already known. Which of these six was lucky to be "officially recognized" and why the Ministry of Defense underestimates the death toll is unclear.

Radio Liberty tells what is known about the victims and the circumstances of their death.

The Ministry of Defense reported the death of Russians only after notes in the regional media

Who attacked whom?

The official statement of the Ministry of Defense says about him as follows: “Several mobile terrorist groups attacked an artillery battery of government forces in the province of Deir ez-Zor in the dark. The Syrian military, along with the Russians seconded from the apparatus of military advisers, took the fight. It lasted about an hour. The servicemen managed to destroy 43 terrorists and six cross-country vehicles with installed large-caliber weapons. "

Sources of Kommersant describe the circumstances of the clash in a similar way, citing the same numbers of casualties among the attackers: “The attack was swift and well-prepared: the Syrian military did not immediately understand what was happening, and some even preferred to get out of the fire, which was fought by the militants from a dozen jeeps with large-caliber weapons mounted on them. Based on the situation, the Russian military took command, deployed artillery in a short time and returned fire. The battle lasted about an hour, during which 43 militants and six vehicles were destroyed. "

Kommersant and Novaya Gazeta also report that representatives of the "moderate Syrian opposition" may have been involved in the attack. According to the newspaper, two days before the battle, its units were transferred to the Deir ez-Zor region from the military base of the international coalition to fight ISIS in Et-Tanf. It is possible that these were representatives of the very "Syrian Democratic Forces" (also known as the "Syrian Free Army"), which in February tried to attack "Wagner". War correspondent Roman Saponkov suggests that the incident could be the result of a counter-offensive by ISIS fighters after the rapid advance of the Syrian army in the area, supported by Russian artillerymen.

Telegram channel Directorate 4 writes about the context of the battle as follows: “In the last few days in the desert area of \u200b\u200bthe provinces of Homs and Deir ez-Zor, both Islamic State militants raiding the infrastructure of the Syrian forces and the Syrian army and its allies trying to clean up the remnants of the jihadists on the West Bank have intensified Euphrates ". According to the channel, citing media close to ISIS, there were two attacks: one on a convoy of equipment, in which the Russian military died; the second - to the barracks of the Syrian military, as a result of which dozens of them were killed and taken prisoner.

Chita.ru reports from the funeral of the victims that the bodies of some of them were brought to Russia in closed coffins, which were not allowed to be opened by their relatives. In the comments to the message about the death of Russians in the Anonymous Army public, Oksana Makeyeva, a resident of Gorny, where the 200th brigade is stationed, writes that the victims "were burned to death." When asked by Radio Liberty to clarify the source of this information and the circumstances of the death of the Russian military, she did not respond.

Names, surnames and ages of the victims

The media of Chita and the Trans-Baikal Territory give the names and surnames of four military men who died in the battle at Meyadin.

The first one is the sergeant Igor Alexandrovich Mikhailov Born in 1995. On July 18, he was supposed to be 23 years old. July 25, 2016 he has

On Sunday, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that during a clash with militants in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, four Russian servicemen were killed: two controlled the battery fire and died on the spot, two more - in the hospital. Thus, during the entire period of the Russian campaign in the Arab republic, 91 servicemen were officially killed. And since the reduction of the group in December 2017 - 50 people.

The fact that the Russian military suffered losses in Syria became known on the morning of May 27. The Russian Defense Ministry first reported that two military advisers were killed and five more wounded. “In the dark, the artillery battery of the Syrian government forces was attacked by several mobile terrorist groups. Two Russian military advisers who directed the fire from the Syrian battery were killed instantly. Five more Russian servicemen were injured and were promptly taken to a Russian military hospital, ”the ministry said in a statement. A little later it became known that two of them died. “Military medics fought to the end for the lives of two wounded servicemen, but they could not be saved. All Russian servicemen have been awarded state decorations by the command, ”the RF Ministry of Defense said.

According to the ministry, the battle with terrorists in the province of Deir ez-Zor lasted about an hour, during which 43 militants and 6 cross-country vehicles with installed large-caliber weapons were destroyed.

The Ministry of Defense also said that Syrian servicemen participated in the battle along with Russian officers seconded from the military advisers' apparatus. However, when exactly the attack took place, as well as other details, the defense department did not specify.

The media, however, managed to find out the names of the first victims. The Chita.ru portal reported that all the military were from Transbaikalia: among them, in particular, 32-year-old senior lieutenant Sergei Elin and 23-year-old sergeant Igor Mikhailov.

According to information received from sources, the servicemen were killed in the shelling on 23 May. The source of the RIA Novosti agency, who was present at the farewell, confirmed this information. “More than 200 people came to see off - many military, many civilians. The sergeant will be buried in the central cemetery of Chita, the lieutenant in Peschanka, a suburb of Chita. According to the information sounded at parting, the bodies of two more soldiers killed in Syria were taken to the regions of the Trans-Baikal Territory, ”the agency's source said.

According to Kommersant's information, another victim is Kirill Polishchuk, born in 1992.

Thus, over the entire period of the Russian campaign in Syria since September 2015, 91 Russian servicemen have died, meanwhile, most of them have died in the last five months, after the reduction of the group.

Recall that on December 22, 2017, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin on the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria. At the same time, there will continue to function two military bases - Khmeimim and Tartus, as well as the Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties. However, since the end of December last year, the Russian group has suffered several losses. So, on the night of May 7, two pilots were killed when an attack helicopter crashed during a planned flight. Shortly before that - on May 3, a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet in the Mediterranean Sea, also killed two. And on March 6, the crew and passengers of the An-26 - 39 people.

Alexandra Djordjevic

In Syria, as a result of shelling from the militants, four Russian soldiers were killed, the Defense Ministry said. Two advisers died on the spot, two more died in hospital from their injuries

Photo: Omar Sanadiki / Reuters

As a result of a battle with militants in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, four Russian servicemen were killed, the Defense Ministry reports.

“In the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, in the dark, an artillery battery of the Syrian government forces was attacked by several mobile terrorist groups. Two Russian military advisers who directed the fire from the Syrian battery were killed instantly. Five more Russian servicemen were injured and were promptly taken to a Russian military hospital, "RIA Novosti quotes a message from the Ministry of Defense.

Military doctors failed to save the lives of two wounded Russians, they died in the hospital, the department said.

"In the course of the battle, which lasted about one hour, the servicemen destroyed 43 terrorists and six cross-country vehicles with large-caliber weapons installed," the message says.

Later, the agency reported that on the morning of May 27 in the Trans-Baikal Territory, near Chita, a farewell ceremony was held for the sergeant and lieutenant who died in Syria. “The sergeant will be buried in the central cemetery of Chita, the lieutenant in Peschanka, a suburb of Chita,” said the source. “The bodies of two more soldiers killed in Syria were taken to the regions of the Trans-Baikal Territory,” added the agency's source.

Earlier, on May 7, the Ministry of Defense reported on a crash during a planned flight of the Russian Ka-52 combat helicopter. The preliminary cause of the crash was a technical failure. Both pilots were killed. Their bodies were found and delivered to the home base, the department said. On May 3, Su-30SM, which took off from the Khmeimim military base and climbed into the Mediterranean Sea. Both pilots who were on the plane were killed; a bird hit into the engine was named as a possible cause of the crash. "There was no fire impact on the plane," the military department stressed then.

On May 25, The New York Times, citing published Pentagon materials and testimonies from military personnel involved in the operation, for an oil refinery in Deir ez-Zor province on February 7. According to the newspaper, mercenaries from Russia were among the attacking Americans.

The newspaper wrote that near the plant in Deir ez-Zor there were 30 American soldiers from the Delta squadron and rangers who were helping the Kurdish troops. At about 15:00 local time, they received information that a large detachment was moving on them, and drones were scouting the area in front of them. At about 20:30 local time, pro-Assad T-72 tanks approached the plant at a distance of about 1.5 km. An hour and a half later, the rest of the attacking forces moved into the area, which at 22:30 opened fire from artillery, mortars and tanks. The American special forces were forced to take cover.

The NY Times claims that during the first 15 minutes of the battle, the US military tried to contact its Russian counterparts in Syria and persuade them to stop the advance. The attack was stopped after military Apache helicopters, F-15E, B-52, AC-130 aircraft arrived at the site. According to the newspaper, then 200 to 300 attackers died, the Americans did not suffer losses.

On April 12, even before his appointment as Secretary of State, as head of the CIA, Mike Pompeo. “In Syria, the Russians met a worthy opponent a few weeks ago. [As a result of this clash] a couple of hundred Russians were killed, ”Pompeo said. The head of the Central Intelligence Agency did not specify which incident he was talking about, noting, however, that all the Russians were killed by the US military.

Four Russian soldiers were killed in eastern Syria in an attack by militants, according to the Russian Federation. According to the Russian military department, several mobile groups of terrorists attacked an artillery battery of government forces in the province of Deir ez-Zor in the dark.

The Syrian military, along with the Russians seconded from the military advisers' apparatus, took the battle. The firefight lasted about an hour. The servicemen managed to destroy 43 terrorists and six off-road vehicles with installed large-caliber weapons belonging to the militants.

“Two Russian military advisers who directed the fire of the Syrian battery were killed on the spot. Five more Russian servicemen were injured and were promptly taken to a Russian military hospital. Two of them could not be saved, ”the Defense Ministry said.

All Russian servicemen were nominated for state awards.

In early February of this year, while performing a combat mission - flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone to control the ceasefire - the leading Russian Su-25SM attack aircraft under the control of Major Roman near the city of Serakib was shot down by a shot from a portable anti-aircraft missile system.

A member of the Syrian group Jaysh Idlib Khur, Mahmoud Haj Ismail, with the call sign Castro, said that he shot down a Russian attack aircraft from a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun. The pilot tried to keep the plane in the air and reported that he was attacked by a missile, after which he ejected.

On the ground, the pilot was surrounded by militants and died in the ensuing battle: while firing back from the attackers from a Stechkin pistol, he was seriously wounded, and then blew himself up with a grenade with the words "This is for you guys!"

The wingman of the flight commander supported Filipov with air fire, carried out several attacks, worked on vehicles that were approaching the olive grove where Roman was. The Russian plane destroyed two vehicles and left the area only when there was an emergency amount of fuel left.

"They [Western countries] will never have people like Roman Filipov," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in this regard.

Filipov's body was taken to Russia. At the Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow, the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry said goodbye to the heroically deceased pilot. The ceremony was attended by the head of the department, his deputy Nikolai Pankov and other military leaders.

The former commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, General of the Army, who delivered his farewell speech, stressed that the feat of the pilot Filipov shocked people in Russia and abroad. Soon, during a ceremony in the Kremlin, he handed over the Golden Star of the Hero to Filipov's relatives.

In March 2016, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe settlement of Tadmor (Palmyra, Homs province), Senior Lieutenant of the Special Operations Forces Alexander was killed while performing the task of guiding Russian aircraft strikes at the location of terrorists.

According to a spokesman for the Russian base of Khmeimim in Syria, "the soldier died heroically, causing fire on himself after he was discovered by terrorists and surrounded."

In April 2016, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The Orenburg authorities decided to name one of the city streets after Prokhorenko.

In November 2015, a Su-24M front-line bomber (tail number "83 white", registration number RF-90932) of the Special Aviation Group of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria was shot down by an F-16 Fighting Falcon of the Turkish Air Force in Syrian airspace.

The pilots managed to eject, fire was opened on them from the ground, the pilot - lieutenant colonel - died. By decree of the President of Russia, the military was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The name of the Hero of Russia was immortalized on a memorial plaque in the village of Kosikha near Barnaul, where he was born and raised. The memorial "Compatriots who died in local conflicts" is located on the Alley of Heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

The head of the Altai Territory said that the region has established three monthly personal scholarships named after Hero of Russia Oleg Peshkov for students at the Altai boarding school with initial flight training named after I. Hero of the Soviet Union K.G. Pavlyukov.