Seven soldiers from Karachay-Cherkessia were killed in Ukraine.
Voldemar Petrov, Stanislav Durakov, Rasul Saryev, and four other of their fellow countrymen were killed in combat. Since the beginning of the Russian operation in Ukraine, authorities have named at least 190 soldiers from Karachay-Cherkessia killed there.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," by February 21, government and security officials had officially recognized at least 4,297 soldiers from the North Caucasus Federal District killed in Ukraine, including 183 from Karachay-Cherkessia.
The names of seven soldiers from Karachay-Cherkessia killed in the combat zone in Ukraine were released by the administration of the republic's Urupsky District. Officials reported the transfer of posthumous awards to the soldiers' relatives.
Five servicemen—Voldemar Petrov, Denis Sudakov, Evgeny Starostenko, Rasul Saryev, and Anatoly Peregorodiyev—were posthumously awarded the Order of Courage. Stanislav Durakov received a posthumous medal "For Bravery," and Andrei Grabovsky was posthumously awarded the Suvorov Medal, according to a message on the municipality's Telegram channel.
The administration's message did not provide the ages or biographical details of the killed soldiers.
Thus, at least 190 servicemen from Karachay-Cherkessia have been officially recognized as killed on the Ukrainian front. "Caucasian Knot" maintains a list of names of natives of the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts killed in the military operation. The list was compiled based on data officially released by government officials and security agencies, according to a "Caucasian Knot" report, "North Caucasus Military District Statistics: Casualties Are Growing in Southern Russia."
Karachay-Cherkessia's district administrations rarely release the names of soldiers from the republic killed in Ukraine. Officials in the Urupsky District, in particular, previously released the names of two killed, Mikhail Pyrochkin and Anatoly Popov.
Actual casualties among combatants from the North Caucasus may be significantly higher than officially acknowledged. This situation is typical for all regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, but is particularly acute in Chechnya. In February 2023, Ramzan Kadyrov called on regional leaders not to disclose the number of those killed. "I don't understand when regional leaders trumpet the number of those killed in the SVO. My question is: why? Don't manipulate the topic of our heroes, writing that so many died in this region, and so many in another," he said. State awards, memorial plaques, and appearances on Channel One do not guarantee state support for the families of those killed, according to the Caucasian Knot article "Three Comrades Served: How the Authorities Are Depriving the Families of Killed Volunteers of Benefits," which described the stories of the slain soldiers. "As a family of military pensioners, I receive only 12,000 rubles a month for two minor children," said the widow of one of the slain.