A journalist who targeted Russian officials and promised to release details of a “giant bribe” was found dead near a roadside at the weekend, but the circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery.
“It’s almost impossible to determine whether foul play was involved in Rybin’s death or whether he died of heart disease as some Russian media have claimed,” Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” told Fox News digital.
Alexander Rybin, 39, was found near a highway about 130 miles outside the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where he had spent time reporting on the Russian invasion.
The official cause of death was that he died of “cardiomyopathy” after an autopsy, The Sun reported, citing Russian state media.
Some media have described Rybin as a pro-Kremlin journalist, but in the last few weeks of his life he has become very critical of officials in the region.
He blamed rampant corruption for the slow reconstruction of Donetsk city and region.
In one of his last reports, Rybin reported that Mariupol had “big money” and “big opportunities for corruption.”
Russian journalist Alexander Rybin was found dead this week on the side of a road outside the city of Mariupol. FOX News A Russian serviceman works to seize the territory of the Azovstal steel plant during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022. REUTERS
According to a translation from The Sun, Rybin explained that his “personal impression” – which he tried to emphasize was not an accusation of any kind – “is that there is a great deal of corruption going on in Mariupol, which is occupied by the Russian army heavily. fighting in the spring of 2022.”
“The year 2023, in my opinion, will not be at all easier for the people of Mariupol than what happened in 2022, unfortunately,” he said, promising to deliver more details on corruption, this time broadcast from the left-wing online platform Rabkor, according to The Times of India.
Koffler noted that “a large number of Russian journalists” have died “in mysterious circumstances” after directly criticizing the Russian regime or Putin.
Rybin spoke out against Russian officials and a potential corruption scandal before his mysterious death. ZUMAPRESS.com
“What we also know for a fact is that so-called ‘wet affairs,’ the term used for targeted killings, is a Russian intelligence craft used to eliminate opponents of the regime,” Koffler explained. “We also know that these operatives are very good at making the deaths of their victims look natural.”
“Whether Rybin was the victim of a targeted killing will likely remain a mystery,” he argued.
Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, linked Rybin’s death to his allegations of corruption and tried to link him to Russian officials in the city.
Destroyed buildings in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, September 25, 2022. STRINGER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Rybin’s death follows the mysterious death of Zoya Konovalova, editor-in-chief of the Kuban propaganda channel, who was found dead of suspected poisoning.
Rybin’s death report emphasized the fact that his bank cards and valuables remained undisturbed after his death.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Rostov Region stated that the death did not show any signs of criminality.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
