MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergey Shoigu sent a letter to the residents of the Italian city of Vagli Sotto thanking them for the memorial to First Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko who died in combat in Syria in March 2016, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Facebook.

"The authorities of the Italian city Vagli Sotto received a letter of thanks from Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. In the letter, he expressed his appreciation for the installation of the memorial to the Hero of the Russian Federation, First Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko who died in the Syrian Arab Republic," the message says.

The memorial to Alexander Prokhorenko, who died in combat with terrorists from IS (terror group, outlawed in Russia) in Syria, was unveiled in Vagli Sotto on August 6, 2017, as a recognition of his merits in the fight against terrorism.