The medal is not for the battle, but for work

Materials of the report of the Expert -Journalist Group of Bellingcat about the participation of the Russian military in the hostilities in Ukraine are fiction and “anti -Russian propaganda”. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, Interfax reports .

"After the appearance of the Bellingcat of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, it has repeatedly noted that this is nothing more than a sign for publishing anti -Russian propaganda materials prepared by Western colleagues," the general noted the last material of Bellingcat about the departmental awards of the Russian Ministry of Defense with supposedly the next evidence of the participation of Russian troops in the combat operations in combat operations Ukraine based on disparate images in social networks of honorary signs and awards of Russian military personnel with serial numbers. "

"The relative increase in the number of awarded military personnel in 2014-2016 is, in fact, the increase in the intensity of sudden inspections of the combat readiness of the troops and other combat training measures in the army and in the navy. In addition, a significant number of our military personnel were encouraged by the implementation of security measures (carrying out combat duty) of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, as well as also Conducting counter -terrorism operations in the North Caucasus region, ”Konashenkov said.

The Bellingcat report published on August 31 noted that since the beginning of the Kremlin’s aggression against Ukraine, the Russian military received more than 10 thousand combat medals . It is noted that the investigation analyzes the awards with only four medals.

The direct indications that the awards were carried out precisely for participating in the war with Ukraine are not contained in open sources. However, experts continue, the number of awards in 2014 and 2015, has increased significantly compared to previous years. In particular, from November 7, 2014 to February 18, 2016, 4300 medals "For Combat Differences" were issued. Consequently, Bellingcat concludes, at which time the army led large -scale military operations.

Making the assumption that not all the Russian military who participated in the battles were presented to the awards, experts come to the conclusion that the Kremlin attracted much more than 10 thousand soldiers and officers to the war in the east of Ukraine. Most likely, it is said in the report that the total number of Russian military operating in Ukraine is measured in tens of thousands.

The total number of Russian military who participated in the conflict was still called approximately approximately. Bellingcat in its report notes that the data given can increase the lower limit of their estimated number.