The body of the first Russian serviceman confirmed dead in four weeks of airstrikes in Syria was delivered Tuesday to his parents’ home in southern Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Vadim Kostenko, 19, died Saturday at Russia’s airbase near Latakia on the Syrian Coast, but how is a matter of dispute. The ministry said Kostenko took his own life; his family said it was unlikely that he’d do that.
“A contract serviceman stationed at the Hmeimim airbase [in Latakia] as a technician committed suicide while he was resting after duty,” the Russian news agency Interfax said, quoting a source in …read more
Source: Voice of America
