A 'hero' Russian world champion in an international tank warfare competition was killed when he was sent by Vladimir Putin into a real battle in Ukraine.
Bato Basanov, 25, from Buryatia, was in a record-breaking tank biathlon team that performed last year in war games in front of defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the army general staff Valery Gerasimov.
But his conflict ended in death when his tank was hit in Ukraine.
He is the latest of dozens of men from his impoverished region some 3,500 miles east of Moscow to be killed in Putin's war.
As two bereft mothers in grief-stricken Buryatia spoke about collecting the bodies of their sons, one reportedly said to the other: 'You're lucky because your son's body arrived intact. Mine came back as a head and two hands.'
Basanov, a corporal, had been hailed last year for 'glorifying Russia by becoming a world champion in tank biathlon as part of his team'.
Bato Basanov, 25, winner of World Tank Biathlon-2021, was killed whilst serving in a tank in Ukraine. Basanov, a corporal, had been hailed last year for 'glorifying Russia by becoming a world champion in tank biathlon as part of his team'
2021 World Tank Biathlon in Alabino, which was held in the Moscow region. Basanov competed against and beat teams from 198 other countries including China
Bato Basanov, 25, from Buryatia, was in a record-breaking tank biathlon team that performed last year in war games in front of defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the army general staff Valery Gerasimov
A young Basanov is pictured left. He is the latest of dozens of men from his impoverished region of Buryatia some 3,500 miles east of Moscow to be killed in Putin's war
A family photo of Bato Basanov, circled on the left. As two bereft mothers in grief-stricken Buryatia spoke about collecting the bodies of their sons, one reportedly said to the other: 'You're lucky because your son's
