Russian Armed Forces casualties in Syria

A Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War started on 30 September 2015, with 4,000 Russian military personnel being stationed in Syria.^[1] The Russian forces also consisted of: 25 strategic bombers,^[2] 20 tactical bombers,^[3] 12 attack bombers,^[4] eight fighter aircraft,^[5][6] 16 attack helicopters^[7][8] and various other aircraft.

As of April 2016, there have been 8 officially confirmed Russian Armed Forces fatalities in the war.^[9]

In addition, at least 62 private military contractors (PMCs) belonging to the Russian company "Wagner" were killed or wounded by December 2015.^[10] Among these, were three or nine PMCs who were killed in a mortar attack on their position in Latakia province in October 2015.^[11][12] Subsequently, another six PMC deaths were reported in February and March 2016, near Latakia, Damascus and Palmyra.^[10]

List of fatalities

The following is a list of the fatal casualties among the regular Russian Armed Forces:

Date of death	Name	Rank	Age	Branch	Cause of death	Location of death
24 October 2015	Vadim Kostenko	Private	19	Russian Air Force	Non-hostile (suicide)	Khmeimim airbase, Latakia Governorate[13][14]
19 November 2015	Fyodor Zhuravlyov	Captain	27	Russian special operations forces	Hostile fire	N/A[15][16]
24 November 2015	Oleg Peshkov	Lieutenant colonel	45	Russian Air Force	Hostile fire (shootdown)	Syria–Turkey border, Latakia Governorate[17]
24 November 2015	Alexander Pozynich	Seaman	29	Russian Marines	Hostile fire (shootdown)	Syria–Turkey border, Latakia Governorate[18]
1 February 2016	Ivan Cheremisin	Lieutenant colonel	N/A	Russian special operations forces	Hostile fire (mortar attack)	Latakia Governorate[16][19]
17 March 2016	Alexander Prokhorenko	Senior lieutenant	25	Russian special operations forces	Hostile fire (air-strike)	Palmyra, Homs Governorate[20][21]
12 April 2016	Andrey Okladnikov	Commander	N/A	Russian Air Force	Non-hostile (helicopter crash)	Homs, Homs Governorate[9]
12 April 2016	Viktor Pankov	N/A	N/A	Russian Air Force	Non-hostile (helicopter crash)	Homs, Homs Governorate[9]

The following is a list of the confirmed fatal casualties among the PMCs:

Date of death	Name	Age	Cause of death	Location of death
3 February 2016	Maksim Kolganov	38	Hostile fire	Latakia Governorate[10][22]
8 February 2016	Sergei Chupov	51	Hostile fire (mortar attack)	Damascus Governorate[10][23][24][22]

References

1. "Russian soldiers geolocated by photos in multiple Syria locations"
2. "Russia Pounds ISIS With Biggest Bomber Raid in Decades". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
3. "Russian Marines Position Themselves in Eastern Latakia". The Aviationist. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
4. Thomas Gibbons-Neff (21 September 2015). "This is the airpower Russia has in Syria". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
5. "Russian Fighter Aircraft Arrive in Syria". Stratfor. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
6. Птичкин, Сергей (1 February 2016). "Россия перебросила в Сирию новейшие Су-35С". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 1 February 2016. (Russian)
7. "Russian Fighter Aircraft Arrive in Syria". Stratfor. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
8. Илья Щеголев (30 November 2015). "В Сирии заметили Ка-52 и Ми-28Н". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
9. "MEDIA CALLED THE NAMES OF THOSE KILLED IN SYRIA HELICOPTER". 13 April 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
10. "Fontanka Investigates Russian Mercenaries Dying For Putin In Syria And Ukraine". 29 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
11. "Three Russians killed in Syria: pro-government source". Yahoo News. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
12. Thomas Grove (18 December 2015). "Up to Nine Russian Contractors Die in Syria, Experts Say". WSJ. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
13. "Is Russia covering up the death of its first casualty in Syria?". 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
14. "Вадим Костенко погиб в Сирии: было ли это самоубийством (подробности)". 25 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
15. "Russia breaks official silence to honor soldier killed in Syria". 17 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
16. "They fought for Syria: what is known about the dead soldiers from Russia". 30 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
17. "Children of Russian pilot shot down and killed by Turkish jet 'are still hoping he is still alive' say reports as family say he 'loved and died for his country'". 26 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
18. "Russian marine Alexander Pozynich buried". 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
19. "Russian military officer 'killed by Islamic State shelling in Syria'". 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
20. Alexander Prokhorenko posthumously awarded title of Hero of Russia
21. The facts behind the Russian Rambo story
22. Media: Russian losses in Syria may number in the dozens
23. "Russian major was killed in Syria last month: former subordinates". 23 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
24. Fellow Russian Servicemen Report Death of 6th Russian Soldier in Syria; Widow Denies