Russia Confirms Non-Military Citizens Slain in Syria

Unnamed Doctors Claim 300 Russian Casualties

A week ago, US forces carried out a massive attack in Eastern Syria, killing a large number of Syrian pro-government fighters, many of whom have since been claimed to have been military contractors from the Russian Federation.

The contractors work for a private company called ChVK Wagner. The Russia-based company is said to be under the employ of the Syrian government, and it’s not clear Russia would have immediate knowledge of casualties inflicted on the contractor inside Syria, let alone the nationalities of them.

After initial denials, the Russian Foreign Ministry now believes that five Russian citizens who are not military personnel were killed by the US forces, but dismissed claims of scores of dead Russians as “disinformation.”

Media outlets are quoting an unnamed Russia military doctor, claiming that about 300 ChVK Wagner contractors were killed or wounded, with between 80 and 100 killed. Many of the wounded were in critical condition.

While one would imagine a sample of 300 of ChVK Wagner’s employees would include more than 5 Russian citizens, the company is also believed to recruit from elsewhere around Eastern Europe, particularly the former Yugoslavia. In all likelihood, however, Russia is still scrambling to get the details themselves.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.