Alexander Prokhorenko

Alexander Alexandrovich Prokhorenko (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.

Life
Prokhorenko was from the village of Gorodki in Orenburg Oblast. 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.

Death
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. He was ordered to move to safety before the air strike but told his commander he couldn't escape the area, before adding: "I am surrounded, they are outside, I don’t want them to take me and parade me, conduct the airstrike, they will make a mockery of me and this uniform. I want to die with dignity and take all these bastards with me. Please my last wish, conduct the airstrike, they will kill me either way. This is the end commander, thank you, tell my family and my country I love them. Tell them I was brave and I fought until I could no longer. Please take care of my family, avenge my death, goodbye commander, tell my family I love them". This transcript first appeared at British site LiveLeak in the English language, its authenticity was never confirmed, no sound record was provided.

Commemoration


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.

On 5 May 2016 a concert was performed by musicians from St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre orchestra in the Roman Theatre at Palmyra in Syria conducted by Valery Gergiev. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Alexander Prokhorenko. The theatre is a UNESCO-listed site. In November 2015, ISIS had used the theatre site as a setting for the execution of Syrian soldiers.

Two retired French citizens, Micheline Mague and Daniel Couture, paid tribute to Prokhorenko by donating World War II era military medals to his family. Micheline Mague and her husband Jean-Claude traveled to Russia and presented the medals to his parents, Alexander and Natalia Prokhorenko, and his brother, Ivan, in a meeting at the Russian Defense Ministry. Mague gave a Legion of Honour (Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur) and a Cross of War (Croix de Guerre) with a bronze palm. The awards belonged to close family members who fought in World War II. Daniel Couture sent the Legion of Honour which belonged to his father, a member of the French Resistance. Couture stated in a letter that he felt that Prokhorenko died defending not only Russia and France, but all other countries who are menaced by terrorism. He also wished to honor the Russian people "who had brought their decisive contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany." The "Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur" (Legion of Honour) is the highest French order for military and civil merits.

On October 5, 2016, during a ceremony at the Russian Cultural Centre of Rome, the ANDPI (Italian Association of Parachutists), Section of Rome inaugurated the 161st Parachuting Course, dedicated to the memory of Alexander Prochorenko.