Bloomberg learned about the delivery of the wounded from Syria

Bloomberg learned about the delivery to the military hospitals in Russia of the wounded from Syria

Russian mercenaries in Syria, injured as a result of the US air strike, are in the hospitals of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the agency Bloomberg has learned. The Kremlin does not confirm that Russians are fighting in Syria

The wounded Russian mercenaries fighting in Syria were taken to the hospitals of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Bloomberg reports with reference to two sources that are in contact with them. One of the interlocutors of the agency says that some of those who have been seriously injured die in hospitals.

Head of the Department of Surgery. Alexei Vishnevsky Alexei Koltunov in an interview with RBC declined to comment. Head of the emergency department of the main military clinical hospital. N. N. Burdenko Arthur Kerimov also declined to comment on RBC. RBC sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Health of Moscow.

The incident, which resulted in Russian mercenaries in Syria, according to the agency, were killed and injured, occurred last week in the province of Deir ez Zor. On February 7, an international coalition led by the United States struck a blow at supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad, killing Russians. Data on the number of deaths and injuries vary. Newspaper The New York Times reported the death of four Russians. The agency Bloomberg, citing two informed interlocutors, Russians reported that more than 200 people were killed, mostly Russians. The American military source Bloomberg says about 100 dead and 200-300 wounded, without specifying the number of dead Russians.

The source of the "Moskovsky Komsomolets", who is in Syria, said that 40 people were killed in an air strike, 72 were wounded, and the question is about the Syrians and the Russians. "The Syrians and ours decided to seize the plant from the Kurds in the zone of work of the Americans. Then aircraft flew, drones and turntables, and they were threshed for four hours, "said the source of the MK. On February 13, the CNN television channel showed a video of one of the coalition air strikes.

Details of this attack on February 14, said the head of the Central Command of the US Air Force, Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Harrigan. According to him, the coalition acted within the framework of self-defense. Against the forces of the coalition, according to Harrigan, an "unprovoked attack" was conducted using artillery and tank shells. "We immediately contacted the Russian officials through a telephone line to warn them of an unprovoked attack on the well-known positions of the" Syrian Democratic Forces "(opposition to President Bashar Assad - RBC) and the coalition. After these calls, the representatives of the coalition approved the striking to destroy hostile forces, "the military leader explained.

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said on February 14 that the Kremlin does not have "specific detailed information that would allow any conclusions to be drawn." He added that to exclude the presence in Syria of Russians who are not related to the servicemen of the Armed Forces, it is impossible. The journalist's question about the plans to declare mourning in connection with the large number of Russians killed in Syria surprised the representative of the Kremlin.

Investigators from the Conflict Intelligence Team name eight names of those killed after the air strike on February 7. Relatives and acquaintances of people who are called CIT, confirmed to RBC their deaths. According to them, all of them were mercenaries of the Russian private military company Wagner.

What is Wagner's PMC

For the first time, according to RBC sources, the "Wagner group" appeared in the Middle East shortly before Russia officially began deploying its military bases in Syria. In the group there were almost 2.5 thousand people. The participation of PMC Wagner in the Syrian campaign was first reported by Fontanka in October 2015. At the same time, as Fontanka and The Wall Street Journal claimed, Wagner's men also took part in battles in the southeast of Ukraine on the side of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of Germany.

Wagner is the military call sign of Dmitry Utkin, who is considered the commander of PMC. Utkin is a reserve officer and previously served in the Pskov brigade of the GRU. Until 2013, he was commander of the 700th separate squad of special forces of the 2nd separate brigade of the GRU of the Defense Ministry of the Ministry of Defense. In 2013, Utkin, at that time no longer served in the Armed Forces, left for the Middle East and was part of a group of fighters recruited by the company "Slavic Corps". As a former ZVC officer said in conversation with RBC, the fighter Wagner played a major role in the liberation of the areas of the historical part of Palmyra in the spring of 2016.

In December 2016, Utkin was invited to a reception in honor of the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland in the St. George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Utkin was present at the reception. "I do not know how famous he is, Dmitry really was. He is a Chevalier of the Orders of Courage, he was from the Novgorod region, "said Peskov.

Link: https://www.rbc.ru/politics/14/02