Russians in Syria: what is known about the dead

On Tuesday, the first reports appeared about those killed by the Russian side in a military operation in Syria. Reuters reported with reference to an unnamed source among the Syrian military that as a result of the hostilities killed three Russian citizens, several more were injured.

However, confirmation of this information has not yet been received. The Russian Embassy in Syria called the report of three dead Russians a “stuff.” As the embassy stated, they have “no information about the alleged “deaths of three Russians” or “three Russian servicemen” in Syria.”

According to Reuters, the dead Russians fought on the side of the Syrian government forces. They died in a shelling of positions in the province of Latakia. According to an agency source, a total of at least 20 Russians were in positions during the shelling.

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in London, in a conversation with Reuters confirmed the deaths of Russians in Syria, citing his own sources. However, he could not give the exact number of deaths. Abdulrahman also said that the dead were most likely not military personnel, but volunteers from Russia.

Officially, Russia does not conduct a ground military operation in Syria, concentrating on air strikes. In addition, in October, ships of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy carried out 26 strikes from the sea against the positions of Islamic State militants.

Russia launched an operation on request the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, but representatives of the US-led coalition accuse Moscow of the fact that the Russian military is not firing at the positions of the Islamic State, but at territory controlled by the rebels, who are waging their own fight against the Assad regime.

As stated by human rights activist Rami Abdulrahman, on Monday from Russian strikes at least 45 people died, including the brigade commander of the pro-Western Free Syrian Army. All of them were killed in Latakia, a province controlled by the Syrian opposition.

The Local Coordination Committee (LCC), which brings together opposition activists, said 57 people were killed in Latakia, most after Russian airstrikes.

The total number of people killed since the beginning of the Russian campaign, as stated by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, is already 370 people, a third of them are civilians, including 36 children.

October 11 Russian President Vladimir Putin called the main task of the operation in Syria, the stabilization of the power of Bashar al-Assad in this country and the creation of conditions for the search for political compromise. He also ruled out the possibility of Russia conducting a ground operation in Syria.

At the same time, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, said in early October that a unit of Russian volunteers would certainly be created in Syria, including from combatants in the Donbas, where now reigned truce

Absolutely different information about the number of Russians killed in Syria on Tuesday was provided by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. By According to the Defense Ministry’s main intelligence department, in the annexed Sevastopol, 26 bodies were delivered to servicemen from a brigade of marines of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation who died as a result of military operations in Syria.

The Russian side has not yet commented on the information provided by Ukrainian intelligence.

At the same time, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russia continues to increase its presence in Syria. Within 76 hours, two Il-158 military transport aircraft departed for the Khmeimim air base, and the KIL-XNUMX pick-up vessel of the Black Sea Fleet with military cargo passed the Bosporus Strait and is heading towards Syria.

Participation in the Syrian operation of the Russian military caused a new wave of patriotism in Russia. According to survey of the Levada Center, 72% of the country's citizens - more than a third of Russians - one way or another support Russian airstrikes.