A journalist who targeted Russian officials and promised to publish details of “huge corruption” was found dead near a roadside over the weekend, but the circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery.
Rebecca Koffler, strategic military intelligence analyst and author of “Putin's Playbook'' “It's almost impossible to determine if he died of heart disease,” he told Fox News. Digital.
Alexander Rybin, 39, was found near a highway about 130 miles outside the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where he was reporting on the Russian invasion. His official cause of death was determined by an autopsy to be “cardiomyopathy,” The Sun newspaper reported, citing Russian state media.
Some media outlets have described Raibin as a pro-Kremlin journalist, but in the last weeks of his life he had become highly critical of regional officials. He blamed widespread corruption for the slow rebuilding of the city and Donetsk region.
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In his last report, Raibin reported that Mariupol had “huge amounts of money” and “huge opportunities for corruption.”
Russian journalist Alexander Rybin was found dead on a roadside on the outskirts of Mariupol this week. (East 2 West)
According to a translation by the Sun newspaper, Mr. Raibin said that his “personal impressions” — he was not trying to emphasize any kind of condemnation — “were in Mariupol, where Russian troops were under large-scale occupation. There is huge corruption going on.” The fight will take place in the spring of 2022. ”
“In my opinion, 2023 will not be any easier for the residents of Mariupol than what was happening in 2022, unfortunately,” he said, this time broadcast on a left-wing online platform, where he spoke about corruption in more detail. I promised to tell you. According to the Times of India, it was a love call.
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Koffler said “a number of Russian journalists” had died “under mysterious circumstances” after directly criticizing the Russian regime and President Putin.
Russian and Chechen soldiers in the devastated Mariupol district, close to the front line in Azovstal. In the port city of Mariupol, fighting continues between Russian and pro-Russian forces and defending Ukrainian forces led by the Azov Battalion. (Photo credit: Maximilian Clarke/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images) (Photo by Maximilian Clarke/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images)
“What we know for a fact is that–Koffler explained that “the term used for targeted assassinations, called 'wet affairs,' is an artifact of Russian intelligence used to eliminate opponents of the regime.” “We also know that these operatives are very skilled at making their victims' deaths appear natural.” ”
“Whether Raibin was the victim of a targeted assassination will probably remain a mystery,” she argued.
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Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, has linked Rybin's death to corruption allegations against him and attempted to link him to Russian officials in the city.
The remains of statues and other rubble are in front of the Azovstal Iron Works, which was last to fall to Russian military attacks in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in late May 2022. Russia's master plan for the city envisions the restoration of destroyed factories. It is being developed as an industrial park, but there is no sign that construction will begin. (AP photo) (AP photo)
Raibin's death follows the mysterious death of Kuban propaganda channel editor-in-chief Zoya Konovalova, who was found dead of suspected poisoning.
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News reports about Mr. Leibin's death highlighted the fact that his bank cards and valuables were left behind after his death. Russia's Rostov Regional Investigative Committee said there were no signs of crime in the death.
