Contents tagged with Russian Troops in Syria

  • Mother of Russian soldier captured by ISIS says information on her son has been classified

    Valentina, mother of the Cossack Grigory Tsurkanu, who was captured by ISIS militants, told Dozhd TV that the Ministry of Defense has sent the Russian soldier’s relatives a document stating that the search for Tsurkanu has been classified.

    According to Tsurkanu’s mother, the letter was sent to her in response to a request she sent to the ministry following her son’s disappearance. Dozhd says it received a copy of the document, which is signed by “Defense Ministry department chief Y. Shulgin”. …

  • Media: Parents of Russian who was taken prisoner by militants in Syria informed of his death

    The parents of Grigory Tsurkanu, who was allegedly taken prisoner by ISIS militants, told about the visit of members of the Wagner private army.

    According to Valentina Tsurkanu, the mother, an unknown man came to her on December 4 and told her that her son died from injuries, and the second prisoner, Roman Zabolotny, was killed by militants. The woman said that this person called himself a representative of the “organization,” as reported by the Dozhd TV channel. That’s what the soldiers of …

  • Russian Defense Minister: Time of Russia’s withdrawal from Syria depends on situation

    Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said that the Russian military has already begun to return from Syria, RIA Novosti reports.

    The minister was not able to mention a specific date when all forces would be withdrawn. According to him, this will “depend on the situation”.

    Earlier on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Khmeimim airbase in Syria, where he gave the order to begin withdrawing Russian forces from their permanent stationing points in Syria. He also met with …

  • Kremlin: Russian troops are preparing to pull out of Syria

    The Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolai Patrushev stated that preparations for the withdrawal of the Russian military group from Syria were well under way.

    As Gazeta.ru news website writes, Patrushev clarified that the pullout would take place "when ready". Earlier, the General Staff had already stated that Russia might reduce its military forces in Syria before the end of the year.

    At the same time, the Chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov stressed that the ceasefire …

  • Chief of General Staff of Russian Army: Russia may reduce the number of troops in Syria

    There could be a substantial reduction in the number of Russian troops in Syria by the end of the year, as stated by the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, TASS reports.

      The news agency quotes Gerasimov as saying, “It seems that yes, after the completion of the military objectives, there will be only a few of them, of course, the decision will be made by the commander-in-chief and the troops will be reduced.” According to the head of the General Staff, the reconciliation center, two …

  • Klintsevich: Russia will complete operation in Syria before year’s end

    The First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Franz Klintsevich, has predicted that the fight against the Islamic state (IS) in Syria will be completed before the end of this year. In addition, he predicts that Russian military aircraft will leave the country during this time, RIA Novosti reports.

    Klintsevich commented thusly on statements made at a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria:

    "Yes, these …

  • Another Russian soldier killed in Syria

    Yuriy Ebel, a resident of the Obrochnoye village in the Republic of Mordovia, was killed in Syria on October 20.

    This was reported by the local newspaper Stolitsa S, and attention was drawn to it by the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), a group of independent researchers.

    According to the article, a group of 18 fighters, including the 25 year-old Russian, fell under fire. None of them survived.

    The newspaper emphasizes that Ebel was a member of the private military company Wagner Group. The …

  • Media: Russian serviceman killed in Syria

    Alexei Ch., a resident of Ussuriysk who served in the Primorsky Territory, died while on a business trip to Syria in early November, reports the Amur News Service.

    According to the publication, information about his death appeared on November 7; no information is known regarding the circumstances surrounding it. His friends expressed their condolences in comments to a photo of him posted on Odnoklassniki (Russian social network).

    One classmate who learned about his death had regularly spoken …

  • Media: Russia will replace top military commander in Syria

    The Russian forces in Syria will be commanded by 51-year-old General-Colonel Alexander Zhuravlev, reported news agency RBC, citing one of its sources.

    According to the report, Zhuravlev’s task will be to prepare for the completion of the military operation. A source close to the Russian Ministry of Defense told RBC that the relevant documents have already been prepared and await signing. Another of RBC’s sources stated that the decision to appoint Zhuravlev to the post of commander of the …

  • Media: Russian soldiers going to Syria encouraged by high salaries

    Russian mercenaries are going to war in Syria primarily because of the high salaries, their relatives reported during interviews with Russian television channel Dozhd.

    It is noted that Russian military personnel currently serve in Syria through private military companies, including private company Wagner Group.

    “If there are such morons who signed the contracts, they [Wagner Group]  can simply dump them,” said one of the relatives.

    During the segment, the channel reported that mercenaries …