KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, July 18. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Defense Minister and State Secretary Nikolay Pankov expressed his gratitude to the mayor of the Italian commune Vagli Sotto and the Rome department of the Italian Paratrooper Association for building a monument to Russian officer Alexander Prokhorenko, who died in Syria during the fight against international terrorism.

The monument to Russian officer Alexander Prokhorenko, who was killed in Syria in 2016, was unveiled in the Italian town of Vagli Sotto. The monument depicts an officer in full military gear, leaning on a rock.

"On behalf of the Russian Defense Ministry, I would like to thank the representatives of Vagli Sotto for memorializing the heroic act of a Russian officer during the fight against international terrorism," Pankov said during a military festival held in the Moscow Region.

Representative of the Italian Paratrooper Association Adrian Tocchi praised the heroic act of the Russian soldier. "Such acts reinstate the meaning of hero. We have decided to name one of our paratrooper courses in honor of Prokhorenko," Tocchi said.

On March 17, 2016, Lt. Alexander Prokhorenko was identifying targets for Russian airstrikes near Palmyra when he was surrounded by IS terrorists. He was killed after ordering an airstrike on his own location. Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded him the title of Hero of Russia posthumously.