It became known about the deaths of at least ten Russians in Syria in recent months. They fought for Palmyra again: Wagner PMC fighters who died in battles with IS Alexander Zangiev died in Syria

Markelov had nine years of contract service experience in Chechnya (from 2005 to 2014), a relative of the deceased told RBC. He, according to a relative, has “many well-deserved Russian awards,” including the Cross of St. George and orders for service in the Caucasus. The coffin with Markelov's body was delivered to Rostov-on-Don on February 6.

“In total, 14 coffins were brought to Rostov that day. From there, Dmitry’s body was flown to Kazan, where the remains were taken by relatives,” the interlocutor said. Markelov's funeral took place on February 16 in the Zelenodolsk region of Tatarstan. “There was an identification, the body was kept in Rostov for a long time - eight days,” said a relative. According to him, there were no representatives of the Ministry of Defense at the funeral.

What is the Wagner group

The so-called Wagner private military company appeared in the Middle East shortly before Russia began officially deploying its bases in Syria in the fall of 2015, a Defense Ministry officer noted earlier in a conversation with RBC. This information was confirmed by a source familiar with the operation. In total, near the Syrian Latakia and Aleppo there were almost 2.5 thousand people who represented the Wagner group.

Fontanka first reported on the Wagner group and its participation in the Syrian war in October 2015. According to her, mercenaries were previously seen in the southeast of Ukraine, where they took part in battles on the side of the self-proclaimed republics. The Wall Street Journal also wrote about this. Wagner’s group got its name from the call sign of the detachment leader, RBC sources who are personally familiar with Wagner said.

In Russia, any military service not connected with the state is prohibited. For participation in armed conflicts on the territory of another country, up to seven years of imprisonment are provided. For the recruitment, training, financing of a mercenary, “as well as for his use in an armed conflict or hostilities,” a penalty of up to 15 years is provided. At the same time, laws establishing the legal status of military personnel do not apply to citizens who go to serve in PMCs.

Moskal

Private Konstantin Zadorozhny (call sign Moskal) died in Syria, presumably on January 31, his comrade Eduard Miroshnikov, with whom he served in the GRU special forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in 2015, told RBC. Zadorozhny was in the Wagner group; the 22-year-old fighter died from shrapnel wounds, Miroshnikov said.

“Konstantin was a good guy, but frivolous. They [the mercenaries of the Wagner group] receive 5 thousand rubles a day, and they make millions from them. I just found out that he signed up for Wagner’s group, and then died in Syria. The city [where he served] did not say,” Miroshnikov said.

Previously, an RBC source familiar with fighters of the Wagner group said that the minimum salary of a mercenary at a base in Russia is 80 thousand rubles, and for service in Syria they pay from 250 thousand rubles. per month. For the deceased, the military company pays compensation to his relatives.

Zadorozhny's funeral took place in the Moscow region on February 14. On the same day, on the page on the VKontakte social network of priest Alexander Narushev, who performed the funeral service for Zadorozhny, a post appeared with a photo of the deceased, to which an audio recording was attached under the name PMC Wagner.

Who is Wagner

Wagner is the call sign of the commander of the private military company of the same name, his real name is Dmitry Utkin. Utkin, born in 1970, is a reserve officer and previously served in the Pskov brigade of the GRU, RBC. Until 2013, he was the commander of the 700th separate special forces detachment of the 2nd separate brigade of the Special Forces of the GRU of the Ministry of Defense. In 2013, Utkin left the Armed Forces and went to the Middle East as part of a group of fighters recruited by the Slavic Corps company. Since 2014 - commander of his own unit. On December 9, 2016, at a reception in honor of the Heroes of the Fatherland Day in the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Utkin was captured in a protocol video. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Utkin was among the guests in the Kremlin.

Dmitry Utkin (left) ​ (Photo: screenshot of the Channel One story)

The choice of a Russian soldier

Police Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Nainodin (51 years old) died in Syria on February 1: he was blown up by a mine, his acquaintance Nikolai Gordienko reported on his VKontakte page. The funeral took place on February 11 in Krymsk (Krasnodar Territory).

Nainodin served in the 101st Special Operational Brigade of the Internal Troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, located in Grozny, and went through both Chechen campaigns. According to acquaintances of the deceased, Nainodin also had experience serving in the Donbass.

The lieutenant colonel has many awards for his participation in the Chechen campaigns, including the Order of Courage and two medals “For Courage”. In 2008, Nainodin even became the subject of the documentary film “The Choice of a Russian Soldier.”

Relatives of the deceased confirmed to the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) that Nainodin was a Wagner Group mercenary and died near Tiyas (Homs province).

CIT reported: from communication with relatives, it was established that Nainodin went to Syria to avenge Sergei Chupov. While in Syria, he led a group of four people, which also included Roman Rudenko, and another fighter (whose name has not been established at this time). They all died on the same day: January 31, 2017. On the same day, another Wagner PMC mercenary, a native of Moscow, Konstantin Zadorozhny, died.

Who are CITs

Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) is a group of independent investigators that collects and analyzes information about the fighting in Syria and Donbass. The group met in May 2014: it consists of six people, including its founder, Ruslan Leviev. The first high-profile investigation by CIT was the publication of the death of three GRU special forces soldiers in the Donbass. One of the most famous investigations focused on Syria. The team collected this data a month before the start of the Russian military operation.

Ramon

Roman Rudenko (29 years old, call sign Ramon) died in Syria on the same day as Alexey Nainodin. Rudenko’s wife reported this in the comments under Nainodin’s photograph published on his page on the Odnoklassniki social network.

In a conversation with RBC, Olga Rudenko confirmed that her husband had died, but refused to answer additional questions.

The Ukrainian portal “Peacemaker,” positioning itself as the online representation of the Center for the Study of Crimes against the Fundamentals of National Security of Ukraine, reports that Rudenko was a participant in the fighting in Donbass.

At the same time, Konstantin Lebedev contacted the RBC editorial office, introducing himself as a friend of the deceased. He claims that Rudenko was never in Syria and Donbass, but died in Russia as a result of an accident.

“We were insulating apartments. The order was accepted on the 12th floor, while I was mixing the solution, Romka was climbing there. Apparently, a zhumar (element of equipment. - RBC) fell apart,” Lebedev said. Nikolai also contacted RBC, introducing himself as a close friend of the Rudenko family, who confirmed Lebedev’s words.

At the same time, they found it difficult to name the exact date of Rudenko’s death; both, according to them, participated in hostilities in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR).

Quiet

In February (the date of death is unknown), 28-year-old Russian Mikhail Nefedov (call sign Tikhiy), who served in the Wagner group, died in the Syrian province of Homs. His brother, Fyodor Nefedov, told RBC about this. The death of Mikhail Nefedov occurred as a result of a terrorist attack: a suicide bomber blew up a group of fighters, the explosion claimed the lives of ten people, said Fyodor Nefedov. However, neither Fedor nor his parents believe in Mikhail’s death. There was no identification, since the body was brought in a sealed coffin. Relatives insisted on an examination, but it was not carried out.

Fyodor Nefedov, in a conversation with RBC, confirmed the authenticity of this correspondence.

Before going to Syria, Mikhail Nefedov was in the ranks of the Donbass militia. His colleague Alexander Pashkov, who served with Nefedov in military service from 2008 to 2009 near Noginsk, told RBC about this. According to Pashkov, Nefedov went to the southeast of Ukraine in 2014, and in the summer of 2015 he was already preparing to return to Russia.

Pashkov found it difficult to say which militia battalion Nefedov served in due to “confusion”: the troops of the unrecognized republics, according to Pashkov, “were not fully formed.” But Pashkov is sure that Nefedov served in the militia.

Nefedov, says a colleague, fought first in Donetsk, then in Lugansk, and decided to return to Russia when a truce regime came to Donbass. “Misha went to Donbass with bright thoughts, like me, like everyone else, he tried to help in some way. What thoughts he had when he left is, of course, something completely different,” Pashkov recalls. — The war did not end in victory, the war froze, that’s probably all. There was no point in continuing to be here.”

The deceased’s second cousin, Sergei Zharikov, told RBC that many relatives did not even know that Nefedov was serving and fighting.

“He said that he builds bridges to earn money in the Leningrad region. The last time he called me was somewhere in November. He was in Yekaterinburg and asked how to get to the station - supposedly he had returned from a business trip, Zharikov recalled. “I asked about his affairs, and he replied that you can’t just tell him, everything will happen when we meet.” I say: it feels like you are some kind of secret agent.” And he: “Well, actually.” He heard that his second cousin "served in a private military company."

Nefedov’s remains were delivered to Russia on March 1; Mikhail’s father, Alexander Nefedov, went to Rostov to pick them up, his second cousin said. The funeral took place on March 4 in the city of Miass (Chelyabinsk region). There was no identification; the body was delivered in a zinc coffin. The relatives were given the deceased’s badge and his phone with a broken SIM card, says Zharikov.

According to Zharikov, those few relatives who knew about Mikhail’s service in Syria (in particular, Mikhail’s brother Fyodor Nefedov and his aunt) dissuaded him from it. “I saw their last correspondence - between my brother Fyodor and Mikhail, in January, where Fyodor writes to him: “Are you tired of living? Why do this? His brother wanted to take him to the States [to the USA],” Zharikov said.

Ensign Tychinin

A native of the city of Izhevsk, warrant officer Alexander Tychinin died in Syria, in the province of Homs, while performing military duties on February 18, near Palmyra. About it

Mikhail's remains were delivered to Russia on March 1. His father, Alexander Nefedov, brought the zinc coffin from Rostov to Miass. On March 4, the deceased was buried. His relatives were given his badge and a phone with a broken SIM card.

Mikhail Nefedov died on February 10, just 15 days short of his 28th birthday. He became the second person from South Urals whose body was brought from Syria as “cargo 200.” Let us remind you that in March it became known that 23-year-old Ivan Slyshkin from Ozersk was there. Both South Urals fought as part of a private military company known as Wagner PMC.

WHO IS WAGNER

Wagner is the call sign of the commander of the private military company of the same name, his real name is Dmitry Utkin. He is 47 years old and a reserve officer.

RBC reminds that in Russia any military service not related to the state is prohibited. For participation in armed conflicts on the territory of another country, up to seven years of imprisonment are provided. For the recruitment, training, financing of a mercenary, “as well as for his use in an armed conflict or hostilities,” a penalty of up to 15 years is provided. At the same time, laws establishing the legal status of military personnel do not apply to citizens who go to serve in PMCs.

FALLED A VICTIM TO ISIS

The circumstances of the death of Mikhail Nefedov (call sign - Tihiy) were found out by RBC journalists together with the Conflict Intelligence Team. CIT is a group of Russian independent bloggers involved in investigating the circumstances of armed conflicts. After interviewing relatives and colleagues of the Miass soldier, they established that before being sent to Syria, he fought in the Donbass in the ranks of the militia. He died in the Syrian province of Homs as a result of a terrorist attack: a suicide bomber blew up a group of fighters, the explosion killed 10 people. The conclusion about Mikhail's death was issued by the military hospital named after. Martyr Abdelkader Shakfeh. It is located in the city of Homs, the closest major settlement in Palmyra. At the time of Mikhail’s death, battles were going on there against the terrorist group ISIS, banned in Russia.

The brother of the deceased, Fyodor Nefedov, told RBC that neither he himself nor his parents believe in Mikhail’s death. There was no identification, since the body was brought in a sealed coffin. Relatives insisted on an examination, but it was not carried out.

RBC publishes a dialogue between Mikhail and Fedor Nefedov from Facebook. It took place at the end of January before Mikhail left for Syria. The entry has now been deleted, but Fyodor Nefedov confirmed to RBC the authenticity of this correspondence.

According to the deceased’s second cousin Sergei Zharikov, only his brother Fedor and aunt knew that Mikhail was going to Syria. “He told the rest that he builds bridges to earn money in the Leningrad region.”

I asked about his affairs, and he replied that you can’t just tell him, everything will be done during the meeting,” Sergei Zharikov told RBC. “I say: it feels like you are some kind of secret agent.” And he: “Well, actually.”

But Zharikov heard that his second cousin “served in a private military company.”

Olga Aizenberg

As a result of the fighting in Syria in 2017, in particular in two campaigns to liberate Palmyra, at least a dozen soldiers of the Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner were killed, according to an investigation by the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which is available "Novaya Gazeta".

The authors of the investigation, having studied posts on social networks, video materials and talked with relatives of Russian servicemen, established that Alexey Nainodin (according to various sources, on January 31 or February 1), Roman Rudenko and Konstantin Zadorozhny (presumably on January 31), Ivan Slyshkin died in Syria (February 12), Vasily Yurlin (February 20), Alexander Sagaidak (presumably died at the end of February, the exact date is unknown).

In addition, on January 31, Yuri Sokalsky (the group has not yet found information about him in open sources) and another PMC fighter, whose name has not yet been established, died. According to preliminary data, Wagnerites Alexander Tychinin, Mikhail Nefedov and Dmitry Markelov also died in the battles for Palmyra.

The authors of the investigation note that “a significant number of names remain to be identified.” They also report that “cases of death of Russian mercenaries are characterized by very late notification of loved ones about the loss (from two weeks or more), inaccuracy of dates of death, delivery of bodies in sealed “zinc” with a request not to open them.”

“In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense never confirms their deaths, although it is often forced to confirm the deaths of military personnel (especially after publications by journalists and investigators) (...) The Ministry of Defense admitted that 30 military personnel and two nurses were killed during the operation in Syria. It is not officially reported how many Russian military personnel are in Syria,” the investigation says.

It also reports that “despite the fact that the initial purpose of the Russian operation in Syria was stated to be the fight against ISIS (the organization is recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia, - edit.), the very first days of Russian airstrikes showed that the target was the rebels, the moderate opposition.”

“As long as ISIS remained outside the main focus of the Russian troops, the losses were not striking in their scale. After the recapture of Palmyra by a terrorist organization, the attempted encirclement of the Tifor airbase (T4) and the launch of a counter-offensive by Assad and Russian forces on Palmyra, the number of Russian deaths began to grow rapidly. This is largely due to the fact that ISIS militants actively use suicide bombers, and besides, ceasefires and truces are impossible with them,” the authors of the investigation conclude.

It is also reported that “the vast majority of the identified mercenaries had previously participated in hostilities in the Donbass, some were injured. Many of the Wagnerites had experience serving in special forces and hot spots. A characteristic detail is also the “Wagner medal”.

Yulia Reprintseva

Since the end of January, more than 18 Russians have died.

Over the past months, the Russian Federation has suffered significant losses in Syria, with at least three times more deaths than officially stated. This was reported by two Russian publications at once - and Reuters.

RBC reported at least nine more Russians killed in Syria, six of whom were mercenaries of the so-called “Wagner Group.” Almost all of them, before participating in the Syrian campaign, fought in the occupied Donbass and served under contract in Chechnya.

One of them, who died on January 29, was 32-year-old senior sergeant Dmitry Markelov. An unnamed relative of the deceased told journalists that he was a Wagner mercenary.

Markelov served in Chechnya from 2005 to 2014. According to a relative, the coffin with his body was delivered to Rostov-on-Don on February 6.

Read also:

“In total, 14 coffins were brought to Rostov that day. From there, Dmitry’s body was flown to Kazan, where the remains were taken by relatives,” the interlocutor said.

Another Russian mercenary who allegedly died on January 31 is Private Konstantin Zadorozhny. This was told by his “comrade in arms” Eduard Miroshnikov, with whom he fought together on the side of the “DPR” militants in 2015. Miroshnikov said that 22-year-old Zadorozhny was a member of the Wagner group and died from shrapnel wounds

“They (mercenaries of the Wagner Group - Ed.) receive 5 thousand rubles a day, and make millions from them. I just found out that he signed up for the Wagner Group, and then died in Syria,” said the former militant accomplice.

Zadorozhny was buried in the Moscow region on February 14. On the same day, on the page on the VKontakte social network of priest Alexander Narushev, who performed the funeral service for the mercenary, a post appeared with his photograph and an audio recording entitled “PMC Wagner.”

The third person killed was 51-year-old police lieutenant colonel Alexey Nainodin. He was blown up by a mine and died in Syria on February 1. His friend Nikolai Gordienko reported this on his VKontakte page. The funeral took place on February 11 in Krymsk (Krasnodar Territory). An acquaintance of Nainodin claimed that he also had experience of fighting in the Donbass.

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His relatives confirmed that he was a mercenary of the Wagner Group. A Russian died near Tiyas in Homs province.

The fourth person killed is 29-year-old Roman Rudenko. He died in Syria on the same day as Nainodin. Rudenko’s wife reported this in the comments under Nainodin’s photograph published on his page on the Odnoklassniki social network. In a conversation with reporters, she confirmed the death of her husband, but did not disclose details.

The Ukrainian website “Peacemaker” indicates that Rudenko was a participant in the fighting in Donbass. His friend Konstantin Lebedev told reporters that he allegedly died in Russia as a result of an accident, but did not give the date of death. According to him, Rudenko participated in battles on the side of the “LPR”.

The fifth person killed was 28-year-old Russian Mikhail Nefedov. He served in the Wagner group and was killed by a suicide bomber in the Syrian province of Homs along with 9 other people. The mercenary’s body was brought in a sealed coffin and an examination was never carried out, despite the demands of relatives.

Before being sent to Syria, the Russian also fought in Donbass on the side of the militants.

Nefedov fought in Donetsk and Lugansk. After his death, Nefedov’s remains were brought to Rostov on March 1. There was no identification; the body was delivered in a zinc coffin.

Ensign Alexander Tychinin, a native of the Russian city of Izhevsk, also died in Syria. This happened on February 18 near Palmyra. His wife and friends reported this on their page on the VKontakte social network. They refused to talk to reporters.

According to the Conflict Intelligence Team, he went to Syria not as a military man, but as a mercenary.

Another Russian, Prokopiy Solomonov, who died in Syria, was buried on February 28. The date of his death is unknown. After finishing his military service, he went to serve in the Wagner group. A fellow countryman of the deceased told reporters about this on condition of anonymity. According to “Peacemaker,” he also fought in Donbass on the side of the militants.

A native of North Ossetia, 40-year-old Alexander Zangiev died on February 22 in the Syrian Tias as a result of an armored personnel carrier being blown up by a mine. His friend Alik Zangiev wrote about this on his VKontakte page. At the time of writing, the message has been deleted.

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Kolomna resident Alexey Veselov died in Syria on February 16, his friend Alexandra Korneva reported on her VKontakte page. She refused to talk to the reporter. Veselov was a 2007 graduate of the Kolomna Higher Artillery Command School, and an active member of the Russian Army. He was not a member of the Wagner group.

The Ministry of Defense did not respond to RBC’s request about whether those killed were members of the Russian Armed Forces and under what circumstances they died in Syria.

The publication notes that since the beginning of the military operation in Syria, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed the death of 28 Russian servicemen. According to journalists' calculations, during the Russian military operation in Syria, 67 deaths were reported.

At the same time, according to Reuters, the losses of Russian forces in Syria since the end of January have been more than three times higher than officially announced. Eighteen Russians fighting on the side of Syrian government forces have died since January 29. At this time, heavy battles took place to regain control of Palmyra.

One of the 18 dead, 52-year-old Gelendzhik resident Yuri Sokalsky, according to one of his relatives, traveled to Syria in January with a group of other fighters under an agreement with a private company. An unnamed close associate of Sokalsky said that he was surprised by the large number of Russian fighters heading to Syria and recounted what he was told about the intensity of the fighting.

“Out of every 100 people, 50 return in coffins,” a Reuters interlocutor who wished to remain anonymous recalls Sokalsky saying.

According to journalists, at least ten of the 18 people killed were killed in the Palmyra area, which was captured by militants for the second time in December.

Let us recall that earlier the Russian publication Fontanka.ru conducted a journalistic investigation and found out who is really fighting in the East of Ukraine and Syria and what the real numbers of those killed as a result of the war are. We are talking primarily about Wagner PMC. The Wagner PMC battalion does not legally exist, because in Russia there is no law on private military companies or public organizations that can have heavy infantry weapons and armored vehicles.

Later, Reuters published an investigation about Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group who fought in the Donbass and were then killed during the fighting in Syria.

himself the leader of the Wagner mercenaries was found at a Kremlin reception on December 9. It is reported that the presidential reception took place in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin, more than 300 military and civilians were invited to it, who “showed special courage and heroism.”

Photo gallery Wagner's trail. It became known where the militant recruiter in Donbass studied and lived in Ukraine (11 photos)

The military formation, which its fighters call the Wagner Group, has been fighting in Syria since the very beginning of the Russian operation, but until now it has only once become the main topic. After the capture of Aleppo, despite the victorious tone of reporting in the federal media, the frequency of messages on social networks with the phrase “died in Syria” increased significantly compared to even the period of the toughest battles for Aleppo. We decided to review Russian losses at the beginning of 2017, and the first part is dedicated to Russian mercenaries.

Despite the fact that the initial goal of the Russian operation in Syria was stated to be the fight against ISIS, in the very first days of Russian airstrikes, the target was the rebels and the moderate opposition. In view of the opposition's desire to be recognized as a representative of the people's opinion, they have always taken into account the opinion of the international community, observing ceasefire and truce regimes. In addition, Assad's opponents used suicide attacks much less frequently - as a rule, the Tahrir al-Sham group (formerly Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) took responsibility for such attacks. As a result, Russian forces suffered significantly fewer losses on the battle fronts with the rebels.

While ISIS remained outside the main focus of Russian troops, the losses were not striking in scale. After the recapture of Palmyra by a terrorist organization, the attempted encirclement of the Tifor airbase (T4) and the launch of a counter-offensive by Assad and Russian forces on Palmyra, the number of Russian deaths began to grow rapidly. This is largely due to the fact that ISIS militants actively use suicide bombers, and besides, ceasefires and truces are impossible with them.

According to Nainodin’s friends, he also fought in the Donbass, where he was wounded:

Having received many awards for his participation in the Chechen campaigns, including the Order of Courage, the Medal “For Courage” and others, Alexey became the subject of the documentary film “The Choice of the Russian Soldier”:

In other comments, Roman’s widow says that relatives are given different dates of death:

Various dates are also found in the comments. For example, which we cited above, it is said that Alexey Nainodin died on February 1. However, in the comments on Alexey Nainodin’s profile there are messages that he died on January 31:

Ukrainian website “Peacemaker” with a participant in the battles in Donbass:

Friends of the deceased also remember Chechnya, but it is unclear how Roman could relate to the events in Chechnya. Considering his age, he could have entered the army no earlier than 2006, when the active phase of the second Chechen campaign had already ended (but the CTO regime was lifted in Chechnya in 2009):

Konstantin Zadorozhny

Simultaneously with the information about Nainodina and Rudenko, information about the death of Konstantin Zadorozhny appeared on the network:

The fact of Konstantin’s participation in hostilities in the Donbass and Syria, as well as work for the Wagner PMC, was confirmed to us by a source who was personally acquainted with Konstantin. In addition, the Ukrainian website “Peacemaker” proves his participation in the battles in Donbass.

Taking into account the evidence described above, we have come to the conclusion that Alexey Nainodin, Roman Rudenko and Konstantin Zadorozhny were mercenaries of the Russian private military company Wagner and died during combat operations in Syria, presumably on January 31, 2017. All three previously participated in hostilities in the Donbass.

Dmitry Markelov

In February 2017, reports appeared about the death of Dmitry Markelov in Syria:

During the collection of information, the profile of Markelov’s widow was established and in the comments to her publications Dmitry’s colleagues were found, who specified that he died in Syria:

Friends of the widow reported similar information:

From the comments of former colleagues of Dmitry Markelov it follows that he “served in Naur”:

The village of Naurskaya is located in the Chechen Republic, on its territory there is a base of the 231st operational battalion 46 OBRON:

It was in the 46th Obron that Sergei Chupov served as a mercenary for the Wagner PMC. 101 OsBrON VV of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, in which Alexey Nainodin served, since 2000 also became part of the 46 OsBrON. The fate of Roman Rudenko also shows a still unclear connection with Chechnya; perhaps he also served in one of the units of the 46th ObrON.

When asked directly, the widow of Dmitry Markelov does not confirm, but does not deny the fact that he served in Chechnya:

It is interesting that the relatives were first informed about Dmitry’s death only 3 days later:

And for almost two more weeks the relatives were in the dark, hoping for a mistake:

Information about his death was finally confirmed only on February 14 - almost 2.5 weeks after his death:

Based on the experience of our investigations, we can say that such secrecy (including from the relatives of the deceased), long-term uncertainty, failure to report the fact and circumstances of death (on average 10-15 days) are characteristic of the deceased mercenaries of the Wagner PMC. In this regard, the situation is strikingly different from the Russian soldiers killed in Syria: their loved ones will finally learn about the fact of their death no later than 2-3 days after death.

Mikhail Nefyodov

At the end of February, a message came about the death of another Russian in Syria: Mikhail Nefyodov, originally from the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region.

As can be seen from the message of his colleague, Mikhail served in 2008-2009, then fought in the Donbass and Syria. In the process of searching for information, his friends contacted us and provided information on condition of anonymity. They confirmed that Mikhail fought in the ranks of the separatists in the Donbass, which is supported by photographs from Donetsk:

Also, Mikhail’s relatives confirmed that he went to Syria to fight not as a serviceman of the Russian army, but as a mercenary of a private military company. According to them, they were informed about Mikhail’s death on February 22, but he died on February 10. In confirmation of this, a photograph of Mikhail’s grave with the date of his death was presented:

The conclusion about Mikhail's death was issued by the military hospital named after. Martyr Abdelkader Shakfeh, who:

On the website of the Homs provincial administration, the governor’s visit to the hospital in 2016, from which we can conclude that this is a functioning hospital.

According to Mikhail's relatives, they were told that he died in a suicide bombing. In total, 10 people died along with Mikhail. His body was brought to Rostov in a sealed “zinc” (galvanized box), along with an army badge and a cell phone with a broken SIM card.

However, after attention to the death of a loved one arose, he deleted the screenshot of the correspondence (