Suicide' Of Russian Syria Soldier Disputed
Mystery surrounds the death of Vadim Kostenko, as family and friends refute official claims that he killed himself over a girl.
14:37, UK,Tuesday 27 October 2015
Russian defence chiefs said an investigation was ongoing but analysis of Vadim Kostenko's phone messages indicated he took his own life because of a break-up with his girlfriend.
But one of the serviceman's closest friends has told Sky News he was still with his girlfriend, who his family believed he was planning to marry.
She said: "Vadim is our best friend, we talked to him every day. We were calling each other the whole time he was in Syria!
"He couldn't have done it! He didn't have a reason to! Everything was good between him and his girlfriend!"
Kostenko's parents told Reuters they had been informed their son had hanged himself on his base at the end of a shift - but they said they did not believe the Russian Defence Ministry's explanation.
The 19-year-old's mother Svetlana said she had spoken to her son on Saturday and would "never" believe he killed himself.
She said: "We spoke every day by phone for half an hour. He was cheerful, happy and he laughed."
His father, Alexander, added: "We were told he had hanged himself because of a girl. He would never have done it. I know my son really well."
Kostenko's younger sister Katya and aunt Anna Musienko said he was planning to marry his girlfriend, who still appears on his social media profile and had been introduced to his family during the summer.
The death was uncovered by Conflict Intelligence Team, a group tracking Moscow's military involvement in Ukraine and Syria.
They said the soldier had been killed in service and was due to be buried in his home village of Grechanaya Balka "soon".
The death may test how Moscow explains military deaths to the public.
The Syria campaign has had huge coverage on state TV and opinion polls have put support for the campaign as high as 70% - but that could change if the conflict drags out or there are serious fatalities.
Kostenko - one of the Russian air force's support staff - had signed a contract on 20 June and was sent to Syria on 14 September, two weeks before the bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al Assad began.
Vladimir Putin ordered in May that deaths of Russian soldiers during special operations in peacetime should be classified as a state secret.
Previously, reports of Russian deaths in Syria had been unconfirmed.
On 20 October, a pro-Syrian government source told Reuters three Russian citizens had been killed by a shell, while on 23 October a Kremlin Defence Ministry source told the Wall Street Journal a Russian soldier had died in an incident related to careless weapons handling.
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