Another high profile Russian critic of Vladimir Putin and Ukraine war has been mysteriously found dead

Another high profile Russian critic of Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine has been mysteriously found dead.

Pavel Antov, a sausage tycoon, was in India celebrating his 66th birthday when he fell to his death from a hotel window.

According to Russian media, the incident unfolded in the city of Rayagada on Sunday, 25 December.

In addition to being a businessman, Antov was also a politician. In June, a message that appeared to be from his WhatsApp account surfaced in which he appeared to criticise a Russian missile attack on a residential building in Ukraine.

The message stated that 'it's extremely difficult to call all this anything but terror', per Politico.

However, Antov later took to social media to deny he sent the message, which was swiftly deleted, and said that he was in favour of Putin and a 'patriot' of his country.

VK

The incident itself is mysterious enough, but even more questions have been raised by the fact that Antov's friend Vladimir Budanov also died at the same hotel just a few days prior.

Police Superintendent Vivekananda Sharma of Odisha police suggested Budanov suffered a stroke and that Antov, as his friend 'was depressed after his death and he too died', reports the BBC.

Meanwhile, Alexei Idamkin, Russia's consul general in the region, told Tass news agency that authorities didn't not see a 'criminal element in these tragic events'.

Alongside his friend, Antov's death is believed to be remarkably similar to a slew of other Russian oligarchs' of late, with the death toll among the country's elite building against the backdrop of Putin's war.

Earlier this month, Dmitry Zelenov died while out dining with friends in the French town of Antibes.

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The 50-year-old real estate tycoon reportedly began feeling unwell before tumbling down a flight of stairs and sustaining head injuries.

Zelenov's death came just a few months after that of Anatoly Gerashchenko, a top Russian aviation expert who was said to have slipped and tumbled down the stairs.

And Gerashchenko's death came two weeks after the demise of Ivan Pechorin, who was responsible for developing Russia's resources in the Arctic.

He reportedly fell overboard whilst sailing in the Pacific Ocean.

These men are only a few of the many elites who have met grisly ends in the months since Putin launched his attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

Kremlin

Although the authorities have repeatedly claimed these incidents to be accidents or suicides, many believe they are more than just coincidences.

As discussed, some of the deceased have been noted critics of Putin's actions - including Ravil Maganov, the chairman of oil company Lukoil, who fell to his death from a Moscow hospital in early September.

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