A TOP Russian journalist has been found dead after vowing to release new details of Putin’s “gigantic corruption”.
The body of Alexander Rybin, 39, was discovered by a roadside near Shakhty, in Russia’s Rostov region.
The body of Alexander Rybin, 39, was discovered by a roadsideEast2West
East2WestRybin died after reporting on the ‘gigantic opportunities for corruption’ in Mariupol[/caption]
He is the latest in a number of mysterious media-linked deaths amid Putin’s war against Ukraine.
Rybin was found dead after visiting occupied Mariupol and slamming Putin for his slowness in rebuilding the bomb-blitzed city.
His cause of death was given as “cardiomyopathy” after an autopsy, according to Russian state media.
His bank cards and valuables had not been removed.
Rybin had fought in Luhansk for pro-Putin forces from 2014 to 2015 – but became disillusioned with the so-called “Russian Spring”.
He had travelled widely reporting for a variety of Russian media including pro-Putin outlets.
On December 30, he told viewers from Mariupol: “There is gigantic money here, there are gigantic opportunities for corruption.
“My personal impression – I’m not accusing anybody of anything… is that there is a gigantic corruption going on in Mariupol, which the Russian army occupied with heavy fighting in spring 2022.
“The year 2023, in my opinion, is in no way easier for the residents of Mariupol than what was happening in 2022, unfortunately.”
He vowed to give more details later.
It comes days after the chief editor of one of Putin’s propaganda TV channels – Kuban – was found dead from a suspected poisoning.
Zoya Konovalova, 48, who ran a channel operating near the frontlines of Mad Vlad’s illegal war, was found in her bedroom alongside her ex-husband Andrey Gubatiyka.
A report by her own channel said: “The preliminary cause of death is poisoning by an unknown substance.”
A fragment of a plastic bag with a “powdery substance” was found in the TV chief’s private house in Krasnodar city, according to reports.
But her colleagues and friends insisted today she would never have taken drugs.
The Kuban media outlet is part of the state-run giant All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company – a key prop in Putin’s propaganda empire.
The pair are believed to have been dead for at least 24 hours before their bodies were discovered.
Dozens of mysterious deaths of prominent Russians have been reported since the start of Putin’s war with Ukraine.
Ukraine is also believed to have carried out assassinations of those who support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Just last month the 35-year-old deputy editor-in-chief of Putin’s favourite newspaper was also found dead in Moscow.
Anna Tsareva’s body was discovered at her home in the Russian capital, with an investigation underway.
It came nearly a year after the death of her boss Vladimir Sungorkin, 68.
Sungorkin, editor-in-chief and director general of Komsomolskaya Pravda, died of a “heart attack” after showing signs of suffocation.