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On August 22, 2024, a Syrian Telegram channel reported that a Syrian national was killed in Ukraine fighting alongside Russian forces. According to these accounts, Alaa Batal is the first Syrian national to be killed in Ukraine.
"Qalaat Al-Madiq," a Telegram channel that disseminates content in English and is named after a Syrian city in Hama Governorate, said the Syrian national was recruited by Russia, which promised to grant him Russian citizenship in return for his service.[1]
It explained that, prior to his death, he was wounded in a battle against Ukrainian forces and was taken to a hospital. He stayed there for four weeks under police protection.
The channel claimed that after receiving medical attention, he was sent back to the battlefield, where he was killed.
It posted photos allegedly showing Batal with the Syrian ambassador to Russia, Bashar Jaafari.
Further, the channel reported that Batal was from Aleppo, noting that his family was only notified of his death two months after he was killed. The channel added that he was buried in Russia. The last line of the message reads: "There are many more [Syrians] killed."
Arabic Accounts: "He Was Killed Today"
Other Syrian accounts on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) posted similar claims, in Arabic, about his death.
On X, an account belonging to Omar Madina posted that Batal had been an "agent" of the Syrian regime, dubbing him a criminal. The post, which featured a photo of Alaa and his Russian miliary gear, said he was killed today.[2]
Humam Issa, an independent reporter who is based in Idlib, also posted the same photos, writing:
"Confirmation of the death of the first Syrian national recruited to fight in the ranks of the Russian army in Ukraine. The deceased is Alaa Batal from the city of Aleppo."[3]
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