Death of a priest of the Russian strategic missile forces in Ukraine – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union
The military cleric was reportedly killed by a projectile from a US-supplied HIMARS launcher
Veteran Russian military priest Mikhail Vasilyev has been killed in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate said in a statement on Sunday.
The priest, who was rector of St. Barbara’s Cathedral, the Patriarchate’s metochion for Russia’s strategic missile forces, died earlier in the day after being fatally injured in rocket artillery fire by Ukrainian forces . According to media reports, Vasilyev was killed by shrapnel from a missile launched by an American-made HIMARS system.
The 51-year-old cleric served in the Russian military for decades, the Patriarchate noted. Vasilyev has taken part in multiple armed conflicts, providing spiritual guidance to the country’s troops during Russian peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Bosnia, conflicts in Abkhazia and Kyrgyzstan, insurgencies in the North Caucasus of the Russia and the operation in Syria.
Vasilyev received several state decorations, including the Order of Courage, one of the main orders a Russian serviceman can receive for displaying selfless courage and outstanding bravery.
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