Russian lieutenant general (1966?2017)
Valery Grigorievich Asapov
(
Russian
:
Валерий Григорьевич Асапов
; 1 January 1966 ? 23 September 2017) was a Russian military leader who last served as the
Lieutenant General
of Russian Ground Forces. According to the
Russian Defence Ministry
,
[3]
he was
killed
on 23 September 2017 by mortar fire from
ISIL
terrorists near the city of
Deir ez-Zor
during the
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
making him the most senior Russian officer
killed in action
to date in the course of the
Syrian Civil War
. Asapov's position in Syria was described by the Ministry of Defence as the chief of the group of Russian military advisers in
Syria
.
[4]
[3]
Education and career
[
edit
]
Valery Asapov was born in
Malmyzhsky District
,
Kirov Oblast
, to a working-class family
[5]
as the eldest of four brothers in the family.
[6]
He graduated from the
Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School
and was commissioned lieutenant in 1987.
[7]
[8]
[9]
He began his military career in the
76th Guards Airborne Division
, based in
Pskov
, having grown to the position of a battalion commander.
[7]
[8]
[10]
In 1992?1993, Valery Asapov served in
South Ossetia
.
[7]
[11]
In January 1995, he was sent to
Chechnya
in Southern Russia.
[8]
[7]
[12]
[13]
He was seriously wounded during the
battle of Grozny
in the course of the first
First Chechen War
.
[14]
[8]
He was operated on four times in various medical institutions and fully recovered a year after, but remained lame.
[8]
[7]
He entered the
M. V. Frunze Military Academy
in 1997 and took a degree in 2000, whereafter he was appointed deputy commander of the former
345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment
that was then part of the peace-keeping force stationed in Georgia's breakaway region of
Abkhazia
. In 2001, he was appointed commander of the
345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment
.
[8]
In 2003, Colonel Asapov became first deputy Commander of the
98th Guards Airborne Division
based in
Ivanovo
and 18 months later he became chief of staff of the division.
[14]
[8]
In 2003?2004, he participated in the
Second Chechen War
.
[8]
In 2007, he was transferred from the
Airborne Troops
to the Ground Troops and became commander of the
18th Machine Gun Artillery Division
based in the
Kuril Islands
in the
Far East
.
In 2011, he graduated from the
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia
. In June, Col Valery Asapov was appointed commander of the
37th Guards Independent Motor Rifle Brigade
(in
Kyakhta
) of the
36th Army
stationed in
Buryatia
.
[15]
[16]
On 23 February 2013, Col Valery Asapov, then commander of the Motor Rifle brigade, was awarded the 4th Class of the
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland"
by Russian president
Vladimir Putin
.
[17]
He was promoted to
Major General
on 8 May 2013.
[18]
In early 2014, Maj Gen Asapov assumed command of the
68th Army Corps
that was reinstated on the basis of the units already stationed in
Sakhalin
and the Kuril Islands: the
18th Machine Gun Artillery Division
, and the 39th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.
[19]
In July 2015, he was transferred to the
Southern Military District
,
[20]
and, according to
Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
as well as other sources, under the alias of "Primakov" participated in the
Russian military intervention in Ukraine
as commander of the
Donetsk People's Republic
's 1st Army Corps.
[11]
[21]
On 11 June 2016, Asapov was promoted again to
Lieutenant General
.
[22]
In August 2016, Lt Gen Valery Asapov was appointed commander of the
5th Red Banner Army
.
[23]
Since February 2017, he was sent to Syria, where he headed the group of Russian military advisers, according to the Russian official sources.
[10]
[4]
[3]
[24]
He was unofficially said to have been assigned to the command post of the
Syrian Army
's
5th Corps
shortly before his death.
[25]
[26]
Death
[
edit
]
On 23 September 2017,
[27]
he was killed by ISIS in the course of the
fighting near Deir ez-Zor
by mortar fire from ISIL while assisting the Syrian army.
[4]
Commemoration
[
edit
]
Monument commemorating Asapov in
Ussuriysk
He was buried with full military honors in the
Federal Military Memorial Cemetery
near Moscow on 27 September; the funeral was attended by the
Chief
of the
General Staff
Valery Gerasimov
.
[24]
Gerasimov acknowledged Asapov's ″invaluable help to the Syrian army's command in planning and conducting military operations against international terrorists″.
[28]
[24]
President
Vladimir Putin
by
presidential decree
, awarded Asapov the title of
Hero of the Russian Federation
posthumously. He was survived by his wife and two children.
Official reactions and investigation
[
edit
]
Shortly after his death, Russian deputy foreign minister
Sergei Ryabkov
said, "The death of the Russian commander is the price, the bloody price, for two-faced American policy in Syria".
[29]
[30]
[31]
At the same time, elsewhere in Syria, Russian air strikes killed at least 37 civilians, including 12 children, in several locations and villages in the district of
Jisr al-Shughur
in northwestern
Idlib province
.
[32]
[
relevant?
]
A senior member of the
Federation Council
said that there was intelligence indicating the killing had been facilitated by treason and the relevant investigation was ongoing.
[33]
On 26 September 2017, Russia's media reported that, according to the preliminary investigation being conducted by the government of Syria, the killing of Asapov was made possible as a result of the leaking of information about his precise location to the enemy.
[34]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Russian army general, ex-commander of "DPR" militants, killed in Syria ? media"
. UNIAN. 24 September 2017.
- ^
"На Сахалине почтили память погибшего в Сирии генерала Асапова"
. ria.ru. 26 September 2017.
- ^
a
b
c
Российский генерал погиб в Сирии в результате обстрела террористами
RIA Novosti
, 25 September 2017.
- ^
a
b
c
Российский генерал погиб в Сирии в результате минометного обстрела ИГ
TASS, 24 September 2017.
- ^
Биография генерал-лейтенанта Валерия Асапова
(in Russian). TASS. 25 September 2017.
- ^
Barnett, Viktor (25 September 2017).
Генерал-лейтенант Валерий Асапов погиб в Сирии на передовой
.
Kp.ru -
(in Russian). KN
. Retrieved
10 December
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Если быть, то быть лучшим!"
.
Vyatskiye Polyany
administration. 9 July 2013.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Владимир Страшко (30 July 2008).
"Курильский "ледокол"
"
.
Krasnaya Zvezda
.
- ^
"Генералы ? выпускники Рязанского высшего воздушно-десантного командного училища"
.
Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School
. Retrieved
27 September
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"В. Г. Асапов"
.
Krasnaya Zvezda
. 26 September 2017.
- ^
a
b
"War criminal, Major General of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation ASAPOV Valerii Hryhorovych (undercover name ? Prymakov)"
[War criminal, lieutenant general of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Asapov Valery Grigorievich (name of the cover ? Primakov)].
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
. Retrieved
25 September
2017
.
- ^
Евгений Крутиков (25 September 2017).
"Присутствие генерала Асапова на передовой было необходимо"
.
Vzglyad
.
- ^
Андрей Бондаренко (26 September 2017).
"Душа в маргеловской тельняшке"
.
Krasnaya Zvezda
.
- ^
a
b
Андрей Горячев (28 December 2005).
"Чтобы не "уходили" раненые"
.
Krasnaya Zvezda
.
- ^
Кадровые изменения в Вооружённых Силах
kremlin.ru, 23 June 2011.
- ^
Кадровые изменения в Вооружённых Силах
Krasnaya Zvezda
, 25 June 2011.
- ^
Ceremony presenting state decorations in the Kremlin
- ^
"Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 08.05.2013 г. № 468"
. kremlin.ru. 24 November 2017.
- ^
Mukhin, Vladimir (21 April 2014).
КАРТ-БЛАНШ. Курилам придают военно-стратегический облик
[Carte Blanche: Kuriles get strategic military character].
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
18 March
2017
.
- ^
Semenova, Kseniya (31 July 2015).
В 68 армейском корпусе, дислоцированном в Сахалинской области, сменится командование
[68th Army Corps in Sakhalin Oblast changes command].
Sakhalin.info
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
18 March
2017
.
- ^
Maria Tsvetkova.
'Fog' of Ukraine's war: Russian's death in Syria sheds light on secret mission
Reuters
, 29 January 2018.
- ^
"Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11.06.2016 г. № 276"
. kremlin.ru. 30 March 2018.
- ^
В Приморье соболезнуют из-за гибели российского генерала в Сирии
RIA Novosti
, 25 September 2017.
- ^
a
b
c
Герасимов: генерал Асапов оказал неоценимую помощь армии Сирии
TASS, 27 September 2017.
- ^
≪Союзники в кавычках≫: почему на фронте в Сирии погиб российский генерал
RBC, 25 September 2017.
- ^
МИД РФ: Российский военачальник погиб в Сирии из-за двуличия политики США
REGNUM News Agency
, 25 September 2017.
- ^
СМИ узнали подробности гибели в Сирии генерала Асапова
Vedomosti
, 25 September 2017.
- ^
Генерал Асапов оказал неоценимую помощь в борьбе с ИГ*, заявили в Генштабе
RIA Novosti, 27 September 2017.
- ^
Moscow blames 'two-faced U.S. policy' for Russian general's Syria death: RIA
Reuters, 25 September 2017.
- ^
Рябков: гибель генерала РФ в Сирии ? это цена за двуличие позиции США
RIA Novosti, 25 September 2017.
- ^
Рябков: гибель российского генерала в Сирии стала следствием двуличия политики США
TASS, 25 September 2017.
- ^
Russia blames US policy for Valery Asapov's death
. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^
Клинцевич: за гибелью российского генерала в Сирии стоит предательство
RIA Novosti, 26 September 2017.
- ^
Источник: расследование гибели Асапова подтвердило утечку данных к ИГ*
RIA Novosti, 26 September 2017.