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Alexander Prokhorenko

Alexander Prokhorenko
Native name Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Прохоре́нко
Born (1990-06-22)22 June 1990
Gorodki, Tyulgansky District, Orenburg Oblast, RSFSR, USSR
Died 17 March 2016(2016-03-17) (aged 25)
Palmyra, Tadmor, Homs, Syria
Buried at Russia
Allegiance  Russian Federation
Years of service 2007–2016
Rank 10-stlt.png Senior Lieutenant
Unit Герб ССО.png Special Operations Forces
Battles/wars Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
Awards Hero of the Russian Federation

Alexander Alexandrovich Prokhorenko (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Прохоре́нко; 22 June 1990 – 17 March 2016) was a Senior Lieutenant with the Spetsnaz division of the Russian Armed Forces. He was killed during the Palmyra offensive of the Syrian Civil War. Prokhorenko was identifying targets for Russian airstrikes when he was surrounded by ISIS fighters near Palmyra and ordered an airstrike on his own location.

On 11 April 2016, President Vladimir Putin declared Prokhorenko a Hero of the Russian Federation, the highest Russian honor. His funeral was held in his home village of Gorodki on 6 May 2016.

Prokhorenko was from the village of Gorodki in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. After graduating from an Engineering School of Anti-Aircraft Missile Defense, he attended the Smolensk Academy of Anti-Aircraft Defense and "graduated the academy with honors". Prokhorenko was married and expecting his first child when he was killed in action.

According to Lieutenant General Sergey Kuralenko, head of the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation, airstrikes were carried out according to the orders of Russian special forces in order to keep Palmyra's historical monuments and civilian areas from being inadvertently bombarded. Prokhorenko had been on a mission to direct some of these Russian airstrikes at ISIS targets, when he was discovered and surrounded by ISIS forces. With insufficient time to evacuate, he then ordered an airstrike on his own position.

Prokhorenko's body was recovered and repatriated in coordination with Kurdish YPG forces. It arrived in Moscow on 29 April, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. His repatriation "was a matter of honour for the Russian Defence Ministry", according to a spokesperson.

The authorities of Orenburg decided to name one of the city's streets after Prokhorenko in his honour. A teacher at Prokhorenko's former school is reported as saying that she and others wanted now to rename the Gorodetskoy Middle School after Prokhorenko.


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