All news

Putin orders to recommend medical workers killed in Syria for awards of distinction

Risking their lives the Russian military personnel are doing their utmost to help the Syrian army in the fight against terrorists, the Russian president said

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the Defense Ministry to recommend the Russian medical workers who have lost their lives in Syria for the awards of distinction and do everything possible to help their families.

"Risking their lives, the Russian military personnel are doing their utmost to help the Syrian army in the fight against terrorists and save civilian lives. You know that on December 5, medical workers of a military hospital, Sergeants Nadezhda Durachenko and Galina Mikhailova, were killed while performing their duties. Colonel Ruslan Galitsky died in Syria yesterday after being severely wounded during the terrorists’ shelling. Let’s pay homage to them with a moment of silence," Putin said at a meeting with senior officers and public prosecutors.

After the moment of silence was over, Putin asked the Russian Defense Ministry to recommend the service members killed in Syria for the awards of distinction and provide all necessary assistance to their families. "I ask the Defense Ministry to recommend all our comrades for the awards of distinction and do everything possible to support their loved ones during this difficult time," Putin said.

Earlier reports said that Colonel Ruslan Galitsky had died in hospital after sustaining injuries in an artillery bombardment by the "opposition" militants, when they shelled a residential area in the western part of Aleppo.

Two Russian nurses, Galina Mikhailova and Galina Durachenko, were killed in Syria earlier this week during the terrorists’ shelling of a Russian makeshift hospital near Aleppo. The sources in the hospital said that they were young women under 40 and had children at home. Children’s doctor, Vadim Arsentyev, was severely wounded in the attack.