MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. The suicide of a Russian military serviceman at the Hmeimim airbase was caused by a relationship breakup with a girl, all the other versions of the death of the Russian contract serviceman, published in the media, are intentional insinuations and untrue, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Wednesday.
"The preliminary investigation has established the circumstances of his death that unequivocally testify to the fact that the suicide was caused by his breakup with a girl," Konashenkov said.
He said that "all the other allegedly versions of the tragic death of the Russian contract serviceman, published by a number of Russian and especially foreign media outlets, "are intentional insinuations and absolutely untrue."
"To my deepest regret, such tragedies also happen in other armies of the world, as they are not associated with the military service, but with the age and personal qualities of particular young people," the defense official said.
He said that the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office had organized a thorough investigation into all the circumstances of the military serviceman’s death.
According to Konashenkov, the Defense Ministry has officially confirmed the reports about the suicide of a contract serviceman at the Hmeimim airbase immediately after the inquest procedure required for such incidents was over. "The man serving under contract at the Hmeimim air base in Syria as a technical specialist took his own life while off duty. A thorough investigation is in progress," the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
Russia joined the operation in Syrian territory against the Islamic State (terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) on September 30 at the request of Syria’s President Bashar Assad. The air group consists of more than 50 planes and helicopters, including Sukhoi-34 and Sukhoi-24M bombers, Sukhoi-25 fighter-bombers, Sukhoi-30SM fighters and Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters. Russia’s ships in the land-locked Caspian Sea hundreds of miles away have played a major role in the operation, too. On October 7 they launched two dozen cruise missiles at Islamic State targets in Syria.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly said the possibility of joining the ground operation in Syria was ruled out.