The relatives of serviceman Nikita Udalov, who survived the tragedy on the Caspian Sea, have issued an official statement. The young man is not yet ready to publicly discuss what he went through, according to infohub.kz.
The statement was published on the Instagram page of Nikita Udalov's brother. In it, the family asked the public to stop spreading unverified information and explained why the serviceman is not speaking to journalists.
"Nikita saved himself. At the moment of the tragedy, he was able to orient himself, reach the shore and survive. Many people are now asking how he managed it and what exactly happened. But for now he is not ready to talk about it. And we ask for understanding. He has been through something that cannot be forgotten in a day. Right now he does not want publicity, does not want to give interviews and is not ready to share details. And we very much ask that this be respected," the statement says.
Recall that on September 24, during a training and combat mission, 17 servicemen were swept into the Caspian Sea due to a sudden and sharp deterioration in weather conditions and gusty winds. Fourteen of them died.
Earlier, President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev awarded Nikita Udalov and two other surviving servicemen the medal "For Courage" (Eрлігі үшін).
In addition, there have been personnel changes in the leadership of Kazakhstan's defense ministry. Dauren Kosanov was relieved of his post as Minister of Defense. Aidos Myrzakhmetov has been appointed in his place.