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Fight against Islamic state

Defense ministry calls report on alleged death of Russian soldiers in Syria media hoax

A Russian media outlet citing an investigation conducted by the The Wall Street Journal reported that nine Russian contract servicemen had been killed in Syria

The Russian Defense Ministry Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

The Russian Defense Ministry

© Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry has called media allegations about the death of Russian contract servicemen in Syria "nothing more but a media hoax".

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"The Russian Defense Ministry was surprised to learn about a Russian internet outlet report alleging that nine Russian contract servicemen had been killed in Syria. Notable, the outlet cites an investigation conducted by the US newspaper The Wall Street Journal, which, by the way, had no mention of the participation of Russian servicemen in the ground operation. Moreover, not a single word was said there about their death in the territory of Syria," the ministry said in a release.

"In the quest for a sensation or seeking to please the more authoritative American media outlet, those who wrote this material did not even bother to read in the internet that this rumor had been launched as far back as October by another Russia news portal. That is why we would recommend to be more careful and verify information not to mislead the readers and not to create shallow sensations," the ministry said.

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