Fontanka named another alleged participant in a brutal execution in Syria

Fontanka named another Russian mercenary who participated in the brutal execution of a deserter from the army of Bashar al-Assad in the summer of 2017 in Syria.

Previously, Novaya Gazeta published an investigation in which it claimed that fighters from the Wagner PMC were involved in the execution of the man. The publication named the name of one of them - a former police officer from the Stavropol Territory.

Fontanka claims that it was able to establish the details of another mercenary. His name is Ruslan, he is 39 years old, he is a former military man from Bryansk, he participated in hostilities in Chechnya. Fontanka writes that he was recognized in one of the group photographs from Syria by “a wide circle of acquaintances from Bryansk.” The publication also obtained this person’s international passport; the publication claims that in 2017 he checked in for a charter flight to Syria.

Now the man is engaged in patriotic education of youth - the publication on social networks found photographs of Ruslan in a Cossack uniform from events with the participation of children. He calls himself a volunteer at the Governor's Palace of Children's and Youth Creativity named after Gagarin, and claims that he is involved in school competitions.

Fontanka contacted Ruslan. He said that he had never flown to Syria and had no connection with Wagner PMC. In correspondence with a correspondent, he promised to name the last three digits of his international passport in order to refute their data, but did not keep his word and, judging by the screenshots, stopped answering.