Ruslan Azizov

Ruslan's death was confirmed via an intercepted phone conversation, in which he is referred to as "the colonel", "Stinger" (his call sign), and "Azizov". It is common for both Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels to be informally referred to simply as "colonel", so we cannot be positive of his rank. We are listing him as Lieutenant Colonel to be conservative based on the evidence at hand.

The "Death Battalion" is a separate infantry battalion comprising primarily former special forces soldiers. It is common for separate battalions to be commanded by officers more highly ranked than ordinary battalions, and this is especially true for separate spetsnaz battalions. A full Colonel in command of a separate battalion is not unheard-of, but Lieutenant Colonel is far more common. Such command could conceivably be held by an officer as low as a Captain, though that would be even more rare than a full Colonel.