A Russian oil tycoon who called for a ceasefire after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has died after 'falling out of a hospital window'.
Ravil Maganov, chairman of Lukoil, Russia's second largest company after Gazprom, has died aged 67 after 'falling out of a window' at Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital.
Lukoil later confirmed his death and in a statement said their chairman had died after a 'serious illness', while Russian media claimed he had taken his own life by jumping out of a sixth storey window.
In March this year, Maganov had called for 'the soonest termination of the armed conflict' triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Lukoil said they supported a supported a 'lasting ceasefire'.
Advert
The company also expressed 'sincere empathy for all victims' of the conflict.
More than six months on from the beginning of the invasion there is no ceasefire in sight, while domestic protests against the war have resulted in thousands of people being detained by police.
Maganov is by no means the only Russian to have died in somewhat suspicious circumstances in recent months.
This year at least five other prominent Russian businessmen have died by 'suicide', and in many cases their deaths were suspicious.
One man was found with multiple stab wounds in his chest, while another found hanged appeared to have been badly beaten before his death.
Two other prominent Russian businessmen were found dead along with their wives and daughters in what were described as 'murder-suicides'.
Those closest to the people who have died claimed they didn't believe the official version of events and suggested they were killed as they 'knew something'.
Beyond the businessmen who turn up dead in mysterious circumstances there have been many other suspicious deaths of prominent figures in Russia.
A number of political opponents, lawyers, journalists and many others have ended up suddenly dying in supposed accidents or suicides.
Outside of Russia, former spies or those who appeared to turn against Russia have been targeted in assassination attempts.
In the UK, Alexander Litvinenko was killed by polonium poisoning in 2006, and in 2018 Sergei Skripal narrowly survived an attempted assassination with nerve agent novichok, which killed Dawn Sturgess after she came into contact with the poison.
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, World News
Joe Harker