Another Russian casualty in Syria reported
According to the official data, 20 Russian servicemen have been killed during the operation in Syria. The Russian media sources reported that Russian soldier Asker Bizhoev, from the Russian Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, was killed in Syria, referring to the information received from the head of the Republic, Yury Kokov.
According to him, Bizhoev was posthumously awarded the Russian Order of Courage. Kokov expressed hope that the “memory of the hero will remain in the hearts of residents of the Republic.”
Meanwhile, Russian media found out that Bizhoev was killed in the spring and the residents of the Republic didn’t find out about it for almost three months.
“Asker Bizhoev was born in 1992. He served in the army. He was a major, branch of troops is not confirmed. He was killed on 19 May,” the Urvansky District of the Kabardino-Balkar administration told Russian TASS news agency.
Bizhoev is the 20th Russian serviceman to be killed in Syria.
On August 1, Russia suffered heavy losses during the Syrian campaign. Fighters from the Syrian opposition shot down a Mi-8 Russian helicopter with five people on board, all of whom were killed.
On July 9, Russian pilots Colonel Ryafagat Habibullin and Lt. Eugene Dolgin died near the Syrian city of Palmyra when their Mi-35 helicopter was shot down. Habibullin was a colonel commander in the army aviation regiment.
In mid-June, Andrey Timoshenkov, a contractor from a Russian marine unit, was also killed in Syria.