Russian army says soldier killed himself in first loss of Syria campaign

Russia's military on Tuesday said that a soldier had killed himself while on duty in Syria, the first confirmed death of a serviceman in the war-torn country since Moscow launched its bombing campaign last month.

The defence ministry in Moscow did not identify the soldier who it said committed suicide but said the serviceman appeared to have taken his life due to problems with his girlfriend.

The announcement came after two people, including a person close to the family of a young soldier serving in Syria, reportedly said he had died from unknown causes while on duty in the country, with one of the sources casting doubt on the idea that he might have killed himself.

It was not confirmed whether that serviceman, identified as 19-year-old Vadim Kostenko, a career soldier from the southern Krasnodar region, was the same as the one whose death was confirmed by the defence ministry.

The government's quick confirmation of a death of a serviceman is hugely unusual and comes as world attention is focussed on Russia's bombing campaign in its Soviet-era ally Syria.

"A contract soldier who served as a technical specialist at the Hmeimim airbase committed suicide while resting after his shift," a defence ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.

The spokesperson said that text messages found on his phone suggested he took his own life because of relationship problems.