MOSCOW, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday denied a media report which said the death toll of Russian troops in Syria was significantly higher than the official figure.
"There are no alleged 'secret' burials of Russian soldiers who died in Syria," spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
He accused Reuters news agency of "trying to discredit Russia's operation to destroy the Islamic State (IS) terrorists and facilitate the return of peace in Syria."
The ministry has so far revealed several deadly attacks against its troops in Syria, and acknowledged just 10 casualties in Syrian battles this year.
Earlier in the day, Reuters reported that the actual death toll of Russian soldiers and private contractors was at least 40 since the beginning of this year.
Reuters said its figure has been confirmed by those who knew the deceased, local officials, or other media outlets.
Also on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian Defense Ministry, instead of media outlets, is the only source of official information about the deaths of the Russians in Syria.
If Russian nationals served in Syria as volunteers, they have nothing to do with the Russian government, Peskov added.
Russia has been participating in operations against the IS and other terrorist groups in Syria since September 2015 at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
