BY ISABEL VAN BRUGEN ON 5/29/23 AT 9:41 AM
EDT
A Russian colonel was killed in Syria, months after he was
deployed to the Middle Eastern country to carry out "special tasks,"
local government officials said.
The death of Colonel Oleg Pechevisty, 49, was announced by the
administration of Russia's Podporozhsky district in the Leningrad region, where
he was born. Podporozhskaya Pravda, a local channel on Russia's VKontakte
social media platform, reported that he was killed after a direct strike by a
"sabotage group" on his command post in Syria.
Russia has maintained a sizable
military presence in Syria since 2015—four years after civil war broke out in
the country—but it has in recent months reduced its forces in the region,
transferring its experienced troops to fight in its war against
Ukraine. Syria's President Bashar
al-Assad has relied on Russian President Vladimir Putin's
troops, and other assisting forces, to fight rebels and maintain his grip on power.
Pechevisty was killed "while performing his commanding
duty" in Syria on the night of May 25 to 26, the administration of the
Podporozhsky district said.
The statement said that the colonel had been, since 2020,
heading the department for the use of special forces units at the Ryazan Guards
Higher Airborne Command School, which is a military educational institute
belonging to the Russian Ministry of Defense in the Ryazan region.
Russian channels are also sharing news of Colonel Oleg Pechevisty's death. He previously served as a spetsnaz group commander and deputy commander of a spetsnaz regiment. Since 2020, he has led the spetsnaz department at RVVDKU.https://t.co/nkUFYLV6Echttps://t.co/kzPVVQpNQe https://t.co/Uuz1rqlZl4 pic.twitter.com/yPY9vnAUhB
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) May 29, 2023
He graduated in 2006 from the Combined Arms
Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, a military academy in
Moscow. Pechevisty also served in Russia's Chechen Republic, Georgia's
breakaway region of South Ossetia, and Syria.
"From December 2022, he performed special
tasks in the Syrian Arab Republic. On the night of May 25-26, 2023, he died
while performing his command duty," the statement said.
"Oleg Viktorovich enjoyed well-deserved authority and
respect from his subordinates. He responsibly approached the performance of
military duty. He possessed high personal moral qualities.
"For impeccable service, he was awarded the Order of
Courage, the Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, second degree, the
Medal of Courage, the Suvorov Medal, the Order of Military Merit, the Medal of
the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, first degree, etc."
The administration added: "We express our most sincere
condolences to the family and friends of Pechevisty O.V. His bright memory will
forever remain in our hearts."
Russia's Defense Ministry hasn't
commented on the reports of Pechevisty's death. Newsweek has contacted the
ministry via email for comment.
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-colonel-oleg-pechevisty-killed-syria-strike-ukraine-war-1803136
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