In Istra near Moscow, on the Alley of Heroes of the New Istra Cemetery, a civil memorial service and funeral of the commander of the motorized rifle regiment of the Guard, Colonel Vladimir Kuznetsov, took place. The officer died heroically on June 5, defending the Motherland: his unit repelled the attack of sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the Belgorod region.

"In the line of duty in the zone of the Special Military Operation, Guards Colonel Vladimir Viktorovich Kuznetsov, commander of the motorized rifle regiment, heroically died. He was a brilliant officer and a true patriot of the Fatherland, whose life was devoted to selfless service to his Motherland," Tatyana Vitusheva, the wife of the deceased officer, the head of the Istra urban district, wrote on social networks.

Vladimir Kuznetsov graduated from the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokosovsky, and later the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

In the ranks of the army, he went from a cadet to a regiment commander, participated in a counter-terrorist operation in the Chechen Republic.

Among the awards to which Vladimir Kuznetsov was presented during his service were the Order of Military Merit, the Suvorov Medal, and the Zhukov Medal.

After being discharged to the reserve, since 2010 he worked in the Main Directorate of the State Service for Technical Supervision of the Moscow Region, since 2022 - in the administration of the Istra urban district.

In the fall, during partial mobilization, Kuznetsov was called up for service as commander of the unit. In the NWO zone, he served under the call sign Ulan.

"Vladimir Viktorovich was distinguished by the highest professional training and skillful organization of work. Faithful to his homeland and military duty, he devoted all his strength, experience and knowledge to strengthening the military potential and greatness of Russia! His authority as a commander-leader was indisputable. They took an example from him and looked up to him, "Tatyana Vitusheva also wrote in her appeal.

Kuznetsov was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously. The state award was presented to the hero's wife by the Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov during the farewell ceremony.

The head of the region noted that from the very beginning of the special operation, the officer, together with his wife, organized the delivery of aid to the front line for military personnel.

"There is such a thing as a "real commander". Your husband, your father, your brother was just that kind of person. From the first day (NWO), he took care of those who were nearby. Thanks to his position, all the help that was needed by the guys, and you, Tatyana Semyonovna, and we, and a large number of caring people could deliver on time. He was a man of great soul. I want to offer condolences on my own behalf, on behalf of all colleagues who knew our hero," the governor said.

  • In Istra, they said goodbye to Colonel Vladimir Kuznetsov, who died heroically in the NWO

People who did not know him personally also came to say goodbye to the combat officer. So, residents of the Malaya Istra microdistrict promptly collected 20 thousand rubles for a wreath to honor the memory of the hero.

"We did not even expect that so many people would respond: from mothers and grandmothers to athletes. Until recently, we did not dare to publish a fundraiser, we did not write in the message that this was the husband of the head of the city, Tatyana Semnovna. This is her personal wish, she did not want hype.

We published the news about the fundraising in small local chats on WhatsApp, even VKontakte did not post this announcement. We thought that we would at least collect money for flowers. And in the end, we even still had funds after the collection - we sent them to the local point of assistance to military personnel, which was organized by Tatyana Semyonovna, "one of the organizers of the collection told RT.

According to the interlocutor, local residents knew Kuznetsov as a real officer, a participant in hostilities.

"There is a documentary about Vladimir Viktorovich on YouTube, but there is no more about him on the Internet - he always kept in the shadows. A very valuable commander who was entrusted to command the fighters with whom he was trained in Tver, and from there he was sent to the Belgorod region. Residents were all in a stupor from the news of the death of Vladimir Viktorovich. When his wife took off her dark glasses at parting, there was no face on her. And she received the posthumous Order of Courage for her husband," added a local resident.