Four South Ossetian men, killed in action during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were laid to rest in the occupied region over the past week. Yesterday, deceased volunteer fighters Alan Dudaev and Oleg Alborov, fighting on the Russian side, were the latest to be buried in Georgia’s Russian-occupied region.
The two men, having fought in Donbas since 2014 as volunteers, died on June 1, Tskhinvali-based RES news agency reported.
On June 2, another S. Ossetian volunteer fighter Alan Bagaev was laid to rest. South Ossetian leader Alan Gagloev, who attended the funeral, awarded Bagaev posthumously By the Medal of “Defender of the Fatherland.”
A day earlier, another volunteer fighter Roland Tskhovrebov, reportedly 36, was buried in his native Java settlement. He reportedly died in combat in Ukraine on May 27.
Attending the funeral, Alan Gagloev claimed that “our guys are fighting selflessly against the Nazis, at the cost of their own lives, fighting for freedom and a better future for our homeland.”
“If we do not eradicate fascism in Donbas, tomorrow we will have the neo-fascists,” the RES news agency cited Gagloev as saying. Tskhovrebov was also awarded posthumously the Medal of Defender of the Fatherland.
Also, according to various Telegram channels, 43-year-old South Ossetian volunteer Remik Kajaev was killed in action on May 27. Official sources did not confirm the report, however.
In the meantime, on June 2, Russian envoy to Tskhinvali Marat Kulakhmetov awarded another killed South Ossetian serviceman, staff sergeant Inal Kortiev of the 4th Russian military base in Tskhinvali the Order of Courage (posthumously). 37-year-old Kortiev was killed in action in April.
Per various confirmed news and unconfirmed reports, at least 14 South Ossetian natives, including both servicemen under the Russian military and volunteers, were killed in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale attack.
Other deceased South Ossetians include 36-year-old Ruslan Basaev (ex-commando officer), Ruslan Kaziev, Andrei Bakaev, Atsamaz Jioev, Atsamaz Bestaev, Alan Tedeev, Alim Lokhov, and Robert Kulumbegov.
Also Read:
- Ukraine: Russia Brought 2,000 Troops from Abkhazia, Tskhinvali
- More S. Ossetian Servicemen Sent to Ukraine
- Abkhaz Defense Chief Pledges ‘Military Assistance’ to Russia
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