07 January 2024 , 15:56
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A well-known executive in Vladimir Putin state-run propaganda TV empire has been found dead from “poisoning” alongside her ex-husband.
The corpse of Zoya Konovalova, 48, chief editor of Russian state TV company Kuban, operating in Krasnodar region close to the war zone, was discovered in her bedroom. Her 52-year-old former husband Andrey Gubatiyka's corpse was found close by.
“No visible injuries were found during the examination of the bodies,” said a spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee, which is probing the deaths. The ex-couple had a daughter, 15, and an adult son. “The preliminary cause of death is poisoning by an unknown substance,” said a report by her channel.
A fragment of a polymer bag with a ‘powdery substance’ was found in the TV chief’s private house In Krasnodar city. 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 [VGTRK], a key prop in Putin’s propaganda empire.
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The man and woman are believed to have been dead for at least 24 hours before their bodies were discovered. Their bodies were found by “law enforcement agencies”. The committee said: “When examining the bodies, no visible injuries were found.
“The investigators are carrying out a set of verification measures aimed at establishing the circumstances and causes of the incident. Forensic medical examinations have been arranged.”
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 cheerleaders for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has previously claimed that Vladimir Solovyov, a top presenter and frothing propagandist at VGTRK, had been targeted by Ukraine in an assassination bid. The deputy director of VGTRK is Dmitry Kiselyov - another leading propagandist - who has said that Britain is “so small that one Sarmat missile is enough to drown it once and for all”. The Russian missile Sarmat [Satan-2], the world most powerful…is capable of … destroying an area the size of Texas or England.”
Konovalova was influential as an editor in Krasnodar region, which lies across the Kerch Strait from annexed Crimea. Putin’s official Black Sea residence is in this region, as is his £3 billion cliff top palace at Gelendzhik. Krasnodar region has been targeted by Ukraine during the conflict.
Last month Ilya Kyva, 46, once a party leader in the Kyiv parliament, was found “covered in blood” in a suspected assassination near Moscow by Ukrainian secret services. He had become a Putin puppet who appeared on obedient state TV shows.
Last month the 35-year-old deputy editor-in-chief of Putin’s favourite newspaper was found dead in Moscow. Anna Tsareva’s body was discovered at her home in the Russian capital, with an investigation underway.
Police opened an investigation into the death of the deputy editor of pro-Putin Komsomolskaya Pravda [KP], a high-flying Russian journalist. In September 2022, her boss Vladimir Sungorkin, 68, editor-in-chief and director general of Komsomolskaya Pravda, died of a “heart attack” after showing signs of suffocation. His death has been seen as suspicious. He is often included among a list of dozens of untimely or mysterious deaths since the start of Putin’s war. Sungorkin fell unconscious on a tour of the Russian far east minutes after suggesting his group “find a beautiful place somewhere… for lunch.”