A Russian journalist who vowed to expose a major corruption scandal was found dead in a highway parking lot | Ukraine-Russia war

Alexander Repin was a journalist and political commentator who worked for several Russian publications. The reporter died after visiting the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol in Ukraine. During one report, he criticized Putin's regime for being slow in rebuilding the war-torn city. To this day, Mariupol remains just a ruin.

“There is a huge amount of money here. My personal impression – I am not accusing anyone of anything – is that there is a huge amount of corruption going on in Mariupol.” He wished the Russians different leaders.

However, the reporter has in the past supported Putin's annexation of the Ukrainian Donbass region. But he has now condemned the “massive corruption” in the rebuilding of Mariupol and promised to reveal more details in a live broadcast on the Rapkor media platform after his return to Moscow.

But he would never reach the Russian capital alive again. Instead, he was found dead on the side of the highway near the city of Shakhty, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border and 128 miles (208 kilometers) from Mariupol.

Officially, the cause of death was heart failure, more specifically cardiomyopathy, according to Russian state media. The journalist's bank cards and valuables remained intact. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Rostov region said that “there were no signs of a crime.”

Repin's death is the latest in a series of mysterious deaths among Russian media figures, at a time when the Kremlin is increasingly cracking down on those with dissenting views. A few days ago, the head of Russia's state broadcaster was found dead. Zoya Konovalova (48 years old) was poisoned, according to her private network.