The leadership of the Ministry of Defense said goodbye to the pilot Filipov who died in Syria. The Russian officer who caused fire on himself in Syria was awarded the title of Hero of the feat of our military in Syria

The Russian Hero, who caused the fire on himself, turned out to be a boy from the Orenburg hinterland.

Federal and foreign media that day with admiration they talk about the feat of an officer of the Russian Special Operations Forces in Syria: once surrounded, he caused fire on himself. The Ministry of Defense does not deny the fact, but they have not yet named the hero's name or surname. As we managed to find out, the deceased officer is Alexander Prokhorenko. He was 25 years old ... - reports orenday.ru.

A rural boy from the village of Gorodki, Tyulgansky District, began his military career immediately after school at the Military Academy of Air Defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It ended in less than 10 years, unfortunately, tragically.

Last week, the Daily Mirror newspaper published an article “A brave Russian special forces soldier, abandoned on a single mission to hunt ISIS militants (a group banned in the Russian Federation. - Ed.), Died heroically, having caused an air strike on himself. The fearless officer sent Russian aircraft to ISIS positions outside the ancient city of Palmyra, but found himself surrounded by terrorists. Not wanting to die without a fight, he ordered the command to drop bombs on his location and died from the explosion. "

Official commentary came from representatives of the Russian base of Khmeimim:

An officer died while carrying out a special task of guiding Russian aircraft strikes against the targets of IS terrorists Russian forces special operations. The officer carried out a combat mission in the Palmyra area for a week, identifying the most important objects of the ISIS and giving out the exact coordinates for strikes by Russian planes. The soldier died heroically, causing fire on himself, after he was discovered by terrorists and surrounded.

The reaction of the militants was swift. The commandos were pressed down with fire, simultaneously pushing pick-ups with machine guns from two directions. An attempt to break away failed - the group was squeezed into a ring, which was shrinking with every minute. No, of course, help was immediately called in ... But overnight the group moved too far from its forward positions. Now they simply did not have time. Artillery with aviation also could not do anything - the enemy approached the group at close range.

"Hold on!" - exclaimed on the radio. It was clear that the rescuers were pressing hard, but ... But one by one the local commandos died. Alexander with a shot in his leg crawled into some hole, from where he threw grenades and fired back until the Kalashnikov spat out a tracer bullet instead of the usual bullet.

It was bad. This means that there are three pieces left in the magazine of cartridges - no more. Our man, equipping automatic "horns", was always the first to drive three or four tracer cartridges into the store in order to understand in time when it was time to reload in battle. So the tracer shot was really bad. Ammunition remained the cat cried. And the almost abysmal shooting was a completely disgusting sign. Therefore, the enemy realized that only one of the group survived, and he would now be taken prisoner. Alive.

It was at this very moment that Alexandri must have decided to die. What he was thinking at that moment, now no one will know. He came here, to the Middle East, from a distant northern country, to defend this northernmost country here. To save what is left of the Middle East. People who do not want to live according to the laws of barbarism, and buildings, through the efforts of barbarians, systematically turned only into illustrations for history textbooks. He did what he could. Now all that was left was to do what had to be done.

Dexterously, as he was taught, reloaded the machine gun. He figured that from his pit to the antique columns, fragments and a shock wave of aerial bombs would not reach. I contacted a pair of bombers loitering to the north. I gave them my coordinates, accompanying them with the mark "stationary target." Waited for confirmation of data receipt. I found out the flight time. With a few shots he put out of action the "Strelets" - the reconnaissance, control and communications complex.

Then he took his last fight, a whole three minutes long, from which he emerged victorious. At least, he held out until the moment when his pit and the surrounding environs were raised to the dazzling Middle Eastern skies by the ammatol bomb, along with himself, the enemies and their pickups.

Those who dropped the "Sushka" had no idea that they had bombed in their own way, and for a long time afterwards they tried to get a "receipt" from the ground about the results of the bomb attack.

Parents and wife of Alexander Prokhorenko have already been notified. Together with relatives, the whole village, close people, friends, classmates and colleagues of the Russian officer grieve.

"I admire the heroism of a simple rural boy who was able to put the fulfillment of the goal and preserve our lives above his own," said one of Alexander Prokhorenko's acquaintances.

We have mourning throughout the village. No one really knew where Sasha was serving, they only gossiped that it was in the secret troops. He graduated from our school with a silver medal, the military academy - with a gold medal. The guy is the pride of his parents, - says Natalya Meshkova, head teacher of Gorodets secondary school. - We only let such guys out of our school, who in a difficult moment will not be afraid, will not regret anything ...

On the website of the village school, which Alexander graduated from in 2007. The team of the Gorodets school took first place in the regional competitions in Russian bast shoes, and Sasha is in the forefront.

Who was the first to finish in the district cross-country race? Of course, Prokhorenko.
Friends of the thin boy, who, as it turned out, possessed remarkable inner strength, affectionately called Prokhoy

The hero Sasha Prokhorenko, in addition to his elderly parents and brother, has a wife, whose wedding they played a year and a half ago. At the moment, Ekaterina Prokhorenko is waiting for an heir. Unfortunately, the hero's son or daughter will know about dad only from photographs and stories. But we are definitely sure that they will be proud of him.

On July 8, 2016, in Syria, militants of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation shot down an attack helicopter piloted by Russian instructor pilots. Both crew members were killed - Colonel Ryafagat Khabibulin and Lieutenant Yevgeny Dolgin.

Given this incident, combat losses personnel and equipment of the RF Armed Forces during the operation in Syria totaled 12 people, two helicopters (Mi-8 and Mi-28N) and one aircraft (Su-24M).

Fedor Zhuravlev

The officer provided guidance for air-launched cruise missiles at the positions of the terrorists, the details of his death are unknown.

The loss was officially confirmed on March 17, 2016 at the awards ceremony for the participants in the operation.

The school near Bryansk was named after a Russian officer who died in Syria. He was buried in his native village, where his mother will now live.

Oleg Peshkov

On November 24, 2015, a Su-24M front-line bomber (tail number "83 white", registration number RF-90932) of the Special Aviation Group of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria was shot down by an F-16 Fighting Falcon of the Turkish Air Force in Syrian airspace.

The pilots managed to eject, fire was opened on them from the ground, the pilot Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov was killed.

According to the Turkish side, the bomber was shot down due to the violation of the air border of this country. The Russian Defense Ministry denied the fact that the Su-24M was in Turkish airspace.

The navigator of the downed bomber, Captain Konstantin Murakhtin, was rescued by special forces of the Russian Armed Forces and the Syrian army. Awarded with the order Courage.

On November 25, 2015, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero Russian Federation.

The name of the Hero of Russia is immortalized on memorial plaque in the village of Kosikha near Barnaul, where he was born and raised. The memorial "Compatriots who died in local conflicts", where his name is entered, is located on the Alley of Heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

The head of the Altai Territory, Alexander Karlin, said that three monthly nominal scholarships named after Hero of Russia Oleg Peshkov were established in the region for students at the Altai boarding school with initial flight training. Hero Soviet Union K.G. Pavlyukov.

The pilot's name will be assigned new school Lipetsk No. 100. An aviation museum will be created there.
On June 12, a monument to Oleg Peshkov was unveiled in the Amur region.

"He was a selfless, courageous, highly qualified pilot. Everyone he taught speaks of him as a very good instructor who could explain everything."
Konstantin Murakhtin
Navigator of the Su-24M bomber shot down in Syria, major

Alexander Pozynich

On November 24, 2015, Russian Aerospace Forces helicopters flew in search of the pilots of the downed Su-24M bomber, during the operation one of them (Mi-8AMTSh) was damaged by shelling from the ground. A contract marine, sailor Alexander Pozynich, was killed on board.

The helicopter made an emergency landing in neutral territory, the crew and personnel of the search and rescue group were evacuated, the vehicle itself was later destroyed by mortar fire from the territory controlled by the bandit formations.

Sailor Alexander Pozynich (posthumously) was awarded the Order of Courage.

Pozynich was buried on the Alley of Military Glory in his hometown of Novocherkassk.

Memorial plaques in memory of the commander of the Su-24M bomber Oleg Peshkov and the Marine Alexander Pozynich who died in Syria were installed on the Amur federal highway (Chita - Khabarovsk) near the village of Vozzhaevka, Amur Region.

"Saving his comrades, Alexander Mikhailovich defended the country, city, family. He fully fulfilled his duty, giving his life for peace and tranquility. It was decided that school No. 11 in the city of Novocherkassk, where Pozynich studied, will be named after him."
Vasily Golubev
Governor of the Rostov Region

Ivan Cheremisin

On February 1, 2016, as a result of a mortar shelling by IS terrorists of one of the Syrian army formations, Russian military adviser Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Cheremisin was mortally wounded.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the officer performed tasks to assist the Syrian army in the development of new weapons supplied under existing interstate contracts for military-technical cooperation.

For the first time, it became officially known about Ivan Cheremisin on March 17, 2016 at the ceremony of awarding the participants in the operation.
The soldier was posthumously nominated for a state award.

Alexander Prokhorenko

Senior Lieutenant of the Special Operations Forces Alexander Prokhorenko was killed on March 24, 2016 in the area of ​​the settlement of Tadmor (Palmyra, Homs province) while carrying out the task of guiding Russian aircraft strikes at the targets of IS terrorists.

According to a spokesman for the Russian base of Khmeimim in Syria, "the soldier died heroically, causing fire on himself after he was discovered by terrorists and surrounded."

The authorities of Orenburg decided to name one of the city streets after Prokhorenko.

Prokhorenko was born on June 22, 1990 in the Orenburg region into a working-class family. In 2007 he graduated from Gorodets secondary school with a silver medal. comprehensive school, entered the Orenburg higher anti-aircraft missile school, in 2008 due to the closure of the school was transferred to Military academy military air defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which he graduated with honors.

Andrey Okladnikov and Victor Pankov

On April 12, 2016, while flying in the area of ​​Homs, a Mi-28N helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed.

Both crew members - commander Andrei Okladnikov and navigator Viktor Pankov - were killed.

According to the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry, "there was no fire impact on the helicopter," the cause of the crash was a piloting error.

Anton Erygin

On May 5, he was seriously injured in the Syrian province of Homs while performing tasks to escort the vehicles of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties and died in hospital two days later.

Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Andrey Timoshenkov

On June 15, 2016, in the province of Homs, Andrei Timoshenkov, a serviceman of a humanitarian convoy guarding the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties in Syria, prevented a car filled with explosives from breaking through to the place where humanitarian aid was issued.

In the explosion of a car driven by a suicide bomber, Timoshenkov received an incompatible wound and died on June 16.

Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Mikhail Shirokopoyas

He was sent to Syria in April 2016 and was wounded a month later by a mine in Aleppo province.

The serviceman underwent an operation in Moscow, but he died on June 7 at the V.I. N.N. Burdenko.

Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Ryafagat Khabibulin and Evgeny Dolgin

On July 8, 2016, in the Syrian province of Homs, Russian instructor pilots flew over a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter (export version of the Mi-24) with ammunition.

Having broken through the defenses east of Palmyra, a large detachment of IS militants attacked the positions of the Syrian troops and rapidly advanced inland.

The Mi-25 crew decided to attack the terrorists. Having used up the ammunition, the helicopter, when turning to the opposite course, was hit by fire from the ground and fell in an area controlled by the Syrian government army.

Both crew members were killed - pilot Colonel Ryafagat Khabibulin and pilot-operator Lieutenant Yevgeny Dolgin.

Servicemen are presented with high state awards posthumously.

Vadim Kostenko. Non-combat loss
On October 27, 2015, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed the death of a technical specialist, contract serviceman Vadim Kostenko, who committed suicide at the Khmeimim airbase.

According to the military department, the cause of the death of the 19-year-old contract soldier was suicide "during off-duty hours in connection with the unfavorable personal circumstances of the soldier outside the unit."

Exactly one year has passed since the beginning of the participation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in military operations in Syria. On September 30, 2015, the first combat flight of Russian pilots took place in support of the legitimate President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. Airstrikes are carried out by a group of bombers and attack aircraft under the cover of fighters and helicopters located at the Khmeimim airfield. Russian-based strategic aircraft took part in the operations Long-range aviation RF, as well as ships of the Caspian Flotilla and Black Sea Fleet- fired at targets with cruise missiles.

The results of the first year of the campaign in Syria clearly showed: Russia is ready to finish off terrorist groups. Russia's success is impressive, with many military analysts talking about a radical turning point in the Syrian conflict. However, war also means sacrifice. Many Russian soldiers have died in the course of the Syrian operations - but Russia always remembers its heroes.

Fedor Zhuravlev
Killed on November 19, 2015 while performing a combat mission in Syria.
The officer provided guidance for air-launched cruise missiles at the positions of the terrorists, the details of his death are unknown.
The school near Bryansk was named after a Russian officer who died in Syria.

Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov
Died November 24, 2015.
A Su-24M front-line bomber was shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter in Syrian airspace. The pilots managed to eject, but fire was opened on them from the ground. The navigator of the downed bomber, Captain Konstantin Murakhtin, was rescued by special forces of the Russian Armed Forces and the Syrian army. He was awarded the Order of Courage. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The pilot's name will be assigned to the new school of Lipetsk # 100. An aviation museum will be created there. On June 12, a monument to Oleg Peshkov was unveiled in the Amur region.

Alexander Pozynich
On November 24, 2015, Russian Aerospace Forces helicopters flew in search of the pilots of the downed Su-24M bomber, during the operation one of them (Mi-8AMTSh) was damaged by shelling from the ground. A contract marine, sailor Alexander Pozynich, was killed on board.
Sailor Alexander Pozynich (posthumously) was awarded the Order of Courage.
School No. 11 in the city of Novocherkassk, where Pozynich studied, will be named after him.

Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Cheremisin
On February 1, 2016, as a result of a mortar attack by ISIS terrorists, one of the units of the Syrian army was mortally wounded.
The officer performed tasks to assist the Syrian army in the development of new weapons.
The soldier was posthumously nominated for a state award.

Senior Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko
Killed on March 24, 2016 while carrying out the task of guiding Russian aircraft strikes at the targets of ISIS terrorists in the area of ​​the Tadmor settlement.
"The soldier died heroically, causing fire on himself after he was discovered by terrorists and surrounded."
On April 11, 2016, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
The authorities of Orenburg decided to name one of the city streets after Prokhorenko.

Sergeant Anton Erygin
On May 5, he was seriously injured in the Syrian province of Homs while performing the tasks of escorting the vehicles of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Warring Parties and died in a hospital two days later.
Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Andrey Timoshenkov
On June 15, 2016, in the province of Homs, he prevented a breakthrough of a car filled with explosives to the place of distribution of humanitarian aid. In the explosion of a car driven by a suicide bomber, Timoshenkov received an incompatible wound and died on June 16.
Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Junior Sergeant Mikhail Shirokopoyas
He was wounded by a mine explosion in Aleppo province.
The serviceman underwent an operation in Moscow, but he died on June 7, 2016 at the V.I. N.N. Burdenko.
Awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Ryafagat Khabibulin

Evgeny Dolgin

Ryafagat Khabibulin and Evgeny Dolgin
On July 8, 2016, Russian instructor pilots flew over a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter with ammunition.
Having broken through the defenses east of Palmyra, a large detachment of ISIS fighters attacked the positions of the Syrian forces and rapidly advanced inland.
The Mi-25 crew decided to attack the terrorists. Having used up the ammunition, the helicopter, when turning to the opposite course, was hit by fire from the ground and fell in an area controlled by the Syrian government army.
Both crew members were killed.
Servicemen are presented with high state awards posthumously.

Nikita Shevchenko
At the end of July, he accompanied a convoy with food and water for local residents. Killed as a result of the explosion of an improvised explosive device planted by the militants at the entrance to locality in the province of Aleppo.
Nominated for a state award posthumously.

Overwhelming enemy forces

“The offensive was carried out with the support of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, it was preceded by powerful fire training. During the day, the militants managed to penetrate the defense of government troops to a depth of 12 kilometers, at the front up to 20 kilometers, ”the Ministry of Defense reports, specifying that the clashes took place in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Russian servicemen performed a feat in Syria

According to the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Rudsky, the terrorist offensive was initiated by the American special services in order to stop the successfully developing advance of government forces east of Deir ez-Zor, to whose garrison the Syrian army broke through in early September.

For several hours, the Russian police, together with a detachment of the Muali tribe, which had previously joined the ceasefire, repelled attacks by the overwhelming enemy forces. The state of emergency was reported to the commander of the Russian group of forces in the SAR, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin.

The commander decided to form a group to release the military police platoon. It consisted of units of the Special Operations Forces (MTR), the military police, staffed by people from the North Caucasus, and the Syrian special forces. The group was headed by Major General Viktor Shulyak, Deputy Head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties, Hero of Russia.

Fire support to the servicemen was provided by two Su-25 attack aircraft, which struck at enemy manpower and armored vehicles from extremely low altitudes. As a result of the attack of Russian troops, the encirclement was broken. It was not possible to recapture the territory occupied by the terrorists, however, the military police platoon and the rest of the military went to the area where the government troops were located without loss.

During the unblocking operation, three commandos were injured (the severity was not specified). All participants in the battle are nominated for state awards. The onslaught of "Jabhat al-Nusra" was stopped. “During the day, 187 targets were defeated by air strikes and artillery fire, about 850 terrorists, 11 tanks, 4 infantry fighting vehicles, 46 pickups, 5 mortars, 20 trucks, 38 weapons depots were destroyed,” Rudskoy reported.

The successful work of the Aerospace Forces and artillery crews allowed the 5th Airborne Assault Corps of Syria to launch a counteroffensive and almost completely restore the lost position.

Difficult choice

The information provided by the Ministry of Defense provides great food for analyzing the specifics of the Russian military presence in Syria. Under current agreements, four battalions of the Russian military police are monitoring the ceasefire in four de-escalation zones, mainly performing security functions. From open data, it follows that the Red Berets are armed with small arms, grenade launchers and a number of armored vehicles (in particular, "Typhoon" and "Tiger").

In the absence of heavy weapons, it is extremely difficult to repel massive attacks by militants. Nevertheless, the police were able to hold out without loss. This testifies either to the high combat readiness of the Russians and the skillful organization of defense, or to the fact that the militants' offensive on the platoon's location was not accompanied by the support of tanks and artillery pieces.

The strike group that carried out the de-blockade operation consisted of MTR officers, colleagues who were surrounded by police officers, Syrian special forces and the crew of two Su-25 (although at low altitudes it was much more logical to use helicopters).

The composition of the release group may indicate that the Russian command faced a difficult choice. There were probably few forces to save the red berets, and therefore such motley formations had to be pulled together. In particular, according to a similar scenario, an operation was organized to rescue the crew of the Su-24M front-line bomber knocked out by Turkey on November 24, 2015. Then the support of the Russian military was provided by the Hezbollah special forces.

The fact that the military police platoon was surrounded means at least poor intelligence in the de-escalation zone. The Ministry of Defense nods to the American special services, but the bottom line is that we get a miscalculation either by the Syrian army or our military intelligence (if, of course, it operated in the Hama area).

The offensive of Jabhat al-Nusra was "large-scale", which means that its preparation could be traced. Placing responsibility on the American intelligence services (probably referring to the CIA, which oversees several gangs in the SAR) is more like an attempt to justify the mistake of government forces or Russian intelligence.

If the position of the military police platoon is in force different reasons turned out to be really deplorable, the incident in the Hama area can without exaggeration be called a feat of the Russian military, and the rescue operation is unique due to the lack of the necessary military equipment. The officers of the military police and the MTR servicemen covered themselves with unfading military glory.

For courage and heroism

The display of extraordinary courage and professionalism has always been the hallmark of our army. The operation in Syria was no exception. In the first half of May, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the title of Hero of Russia to four Russian MTR officers, who, as part of a group of 16 people, fought off attacks by 300 Jabhat al-Nusra militants for two days. The encirclement became possible due to the chaotic retreat of the Syrian army.

On May 24, in the presence of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Putin personally awarded the special forces. This is not the first time that Russian servicemen have been awarded who are fighting both in the sky and on the ground, although about ground operations Russian army there is extremely scant information

So, in March, 21 participants in the operation in Syria received state awards in the St. George Hall of the Kremlin: four servicemen received the title of Hero of Russia, 17 people received the Order of St. George, Courage, For Services to the Fatherland, and For Military Services. It is possible that the Russians awarded by the head of state, like their colleagues from the MTR, have become victims of the unprofessionalism of the Syrian army.

The history of exploits is not always made public. The Russian state is rarely the first to report the heroism and dedication of our servicemen who died in battle with terrorists. This was the case with the message about the death of special forces soldier Alexander Prokhorenko, who caused fire upon himself during the liberation of Palmyra on March 17, 2016. The lieutenant's feat was first reported by the Western media, and only then he found a response in Russia.

Few people know the feat of Captain Marat Akhmetshin, 35-year-old chief of intelligence of the headquarters of the howitzer self-propelled artillery battalion. The funeral and posthumous ceremony took place in secrecy on June 6 and August 31, 2016. A native of Kazan died near Palmyra, his family received a message about the death on June 3, 2016.

On June 23, 2016, the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree on awarding Akhmetshin the title of Hero of Russia "for courage and heroism in performing special tasks." The circumstances of the feat are classified, but the overall picture of the battle in January 2017 was described by the father of the deceased captain. It follows from his words that Akhmetshin and other servicemen confronted 200 militants.

“When help arrived and the attack was repulsed, he was found still alive. He, all wounded, was holding a grenade without a pin in his hand, and the earth was burning around him. Apparently, he wanted to undermine himself if the ISIS members come close. Ours took the grenade, threw it aside to explode. Only then did the son lose consciousness and fell face down into the fire, ”said the father of the hero of Russia.

Presumably, at the end of December 2016 or the beginning of January 2017, by a closed decree of the President of the Russian Federation, officers of the MTR were awarded, who eliminated the organizers of the shelling of a Russian field hospital in Aleppo. On December 5, 2016, doctors - sergeants Nadezhda Durachenko and Galina Mikhailova - became victims of the militants' shells. In total, the Syrian campaign claimed the lives of 34 Russians.