Upwards of 131 Russians have died in Syria since the start of the year, a death certificate published by the Reuters news agency on Friday reveals.
Official estimates place the figure of Russian military deaths in Syria at less than half that figure over the country’s 2-year mission in the embattled country.
An Oct. 4 death certificate stamped by the consulate department of the Russian Embassy in Syria and signed by the consul names a 131st death in 2017.
A friend and a relative of the dead Russian national told Reuters he had served as a private military contractor in the conflict-torn country.
Reuters cites an unnamed official at the consulate in Syria as saying that Russian diplomatic missions don’t register the deaths of servicemen.
The Russian military does not officially acknowledge contractors deployed in Syria or their deaths.