Multiple wounds on body of Russian soldier who died in Syria: report

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:10am EDT

Multiple wounds on body of Russian soldier who died in Syria: report

GRECHANAYA BALKA, RUSSIA | BY MARIA TSVETKOVA

The body of the first Russian soldier to die in Syria was returned to his parents with wounds inconsistent with the official version that he hanged himself, the serviceman's uncle told a Russian newspaper on Wednesday.

"What is this stuff about him hanging himself?," an unnamed man who described himself as the uncle of Vadim Kostenko told the Novaya Gazeta newspaper on the day of the dead serviceman's funeral in his home village in southern Russia.

"He had a broken jaw and the back of his head was bashed in. And his neck was broken." He also said his nephew's nose was broken, the newspaper reported.

Kostenko, 19, one of the Russian air force's support staff in Syria, on Tuesday became the first Russian serviceman to be confirmed dead in four weeks of air strikes there. The ministry of defense said he hanged himself because of problems in his personal life.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/28/us-mideast-crisis-syria-russia-death-idUSKCN0SM0R320151028

[DetlefK]

1. Damn. That's not suicide and he didn't die on the battlefield.

Russia has a history of lying about the circumstances of deaths of its soldiers (-> Ukraine), so this begs the question what happened.

Why was his head bashed in? He was in a warzone where everybody is carrying guns. Why didn't his opponents shoot him?

[Renew Deal]

2. Why do the Russians lie to families.

They've been doing it with Ukraine and now Syria. This is particularly cruel.