Russian soldier committed suicide in Syria, relatives do not believe the Ministry of Defense data

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the death of a Russian soldier serving under a contract at the Khmeimim air base in Syria, the location of the Russian military. According to official data, a contract soldier serving as a technical specialist “committed suicide while resting after duty.”

The name of the deceased is not indicated in the message. According to the preliminary version of the Ministry of Defense, the cause of suicide could have been “discord in a personal relationship with a girl.”

However, neither the soldier’s parents, who said in an interview with Reuters that on the day of his death during a telephone conversation, their son “was happy and laughing,” nor the soldier’s colleague, who told the BBC that in his personal life, do not believe in the version of suicide. The soldier was doing well and was going to get married.

Earlier Monday, the Conflict Intelligence Team information group, founded by community activist Ruslan Leviev, published material about the death of a Russian soldier 1996, born in Syria 24 October. A soldier’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) suggests, citing data from social networks, that after completing compulsory military service this summer, he almost immediately went to serve under a contract in the Russian Aerospace Forces. From his public profile it is known that he also went to Syria as an aircraft technician. A friend of the deceased explained in comments on his wall that he “died while performing military duties in Syria.”

According to the social networks published by CIT, a contract soldier in Syria served in the 960 st attack aviation regiment of the 1 th guards mixed air division. Two months before his death, he published a photo in the form of military space forces. The base in Latakia is located far from the front line, and it is extremely unlikely that the soldier was directly involved in the hostilities.