Three Hundred Russian Servicemen Killed or Wounded in Syria

Moscow / 16.02.18 / Turan: About 300 people working for a Kremlin-linked Russian private military company were killed or wounded in Syria last week, the Moscow bureau of the Reuters agency reported, citing three sources familiar with the circumstances of the incident.

A Russian military doctor said that about 100 people were killed, and a source of knowledgeable fighters said that more than 80 people died.

The time of losses coincided with the February 7 battle in the vicinity of the Syrian city of Deir ez Zor, where the coalition forces led by the United States attacked the formation of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Russian authorities reported the possible death of five Russian citizens not related to the armed forces.

The clashes show that Moscow is more involved in Syrian events than previously said, and runs the risk of being drawn into direct confrontation with the US in this country. The losses suffered by Russia have become the largest since the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

The wounded evacuated from Syria in the last few days were taken to four Russian military hospitals, five sources familiar with the situation said.

The military doctor of the hospital, who is treating those delivered from Syria, said that on Saturday at his hospital there were more than 50 such patients, one third of which were seriously injured. The doctor said that the wounded were delivered by at least three specially equipped military transport aircraft.

The Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged the death of five of its citizens, calling misinformation the death of dozens and hundreds of Russians. The RF Ministry of Defense did not answer the questions of Reuters about the losses in Syria.

The military doctor said the number of wounded at the end of last week was about 200 people.

According to him, two units of Russian private military specialists took part in the battle near Deir-ez-Zor. There were 550 people, and of this number, only 200 people were not killed or wounded.

"The prognosis for the majority of the wounded is disappointing," the doctor said.

The Russian authorities use a large number of private contractors in Syria. Most of them are former military men, who are citizens of Russia, and some are Ukrainian or Serbian citizens.

According to military sources, the losses were so high due to lack of air support, and also because the strike was inflicted by well-equipped forces, rather than poorly armed militants.

"At first there was a raid of bombers, and then the Apaches cleared them," the wounded reported. -02D-