Prokhorenko was deployed in Syria when he was discovered by Islamic State forces while identifying targets for Russian airstrikes. He was quickly surrounded, and requested evacuation, which was 12 minutes away. He found himself unable to reach the evacuation point, and low on ammunition. Knowing capture or death was inevitable, he requested an airstrike on his position to kill as many militants as he could. Prokhorenko's death garnered international media attention.
Commemoration
Prokhorenko's body was recovered and repatriated in coordination with Kurdish YPG forces. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, his body arrived in Moscow on 29 April and a spokesperson stated his repatriation "was a matter of honor for the Russian Defence Ministry". The authorities of Orenburg decided to name one of the city's streets after Prokhorenko in his honor and a teacher at Prokhorenko's former school is reported as saying that she and others now wanted to rename the Gorodetskoy Middle School after him. On 5 May 2016 a concert was performed by musicians from St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre orchestra in the Roman Theatre at Palmyra in Syria conducted by Valery Gergiev. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Alexander Prokhorenko. The theatre is a UNESCO-listed site. In November 2015, ISIS had used the theatre site as a setting for the execution of Syrian soldiers. Two retired French citizens, Micheline Mague and Daniel Couture, paid tribute to Prokhorenko by donating World War II era military medals to his family. Micheline Mague and her husband Jean-Claude traveled to Russia and presented the medals to his parents, Alexander and Natalia Prokhorenko, and his brother, Ivan, in a meeting at the Russian Defense Ministry. Mague gave a Legion of Honour and a Cross of War with a bronze palm. The awards belonged to close family members who fought in World War II. Daniel Couture sent the Legion of Honour which belonged to his father, a member of the French Resistance. Couture stated in a letter that he felt that Prokhorenko died defending not only Russia and France, but all other countries who are menaced by terrorism. He also wished to honor the Russian people "who had brought their decisive contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany." The "Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur" is the highest French order for military and civil merits. On October 5, 2016, during a ceremony at the Russian Cultural Centre of Rome, the ANDPI, Section of Rome .
