Leading pro-Putin journalist shot dead by ‘cluster bullet’ at Crimea’s military training ground
- Svetlana Babayeva, 50, died during a “military sport shooting” in Crimea
- The pro-Putin journalist was shot dead by a “stray bullet” in the capital, Simferopol
- A source has suggested she was killed by bullets from her own gun
- Others said it was an unusual “ricochet” from a bullet, but neither has been confirmed
A leading pro-Putin journalist was shot dead by a “stray bullet” at a military training ground in Crimea.
Svetlana Babayeva, 50, died during a “military sport shooting” in Simferopol, the peninsula’s capital.
Further details about the “accident” were not officially announced.
The mysterious shooting is being investigated by military rather than civilian government investigators.
A source told the Cheka-OGPU telegram channel that the Russian woman was killed by a bullet from her own gun.
Svetlana Babayeva, 50, died during a “military sport shooting” in Simferopol, the peninsula’s capital
Meanwhile, MK news agency quoted a source as saying she was killed by an unusual bullet ricochet.
However, none of these could be confirmed, and the mystery of the death of Babayeva, the head of the Simferopol office of the media group Rossiya Segodnya, remains.
Her death caused grief among senior Putin officials and propagandists.
According to reports, Babayeva was an instructor among the Shadowfolk [Wolf]International training center that taught security and survival skills to military personnel and civilians.
She is said to have provided tactical training services for armed groups and bodyguards.
![According to reports, Babayeva was an instructor among the Shadowfolk [Wolf]International training center that taught security and survival skills to military personnel and civilians](https://www.spamchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1667059941_217_Leading-pro-Putin-journalist-shot-dead-by-stray-bullet-at-Crimean.jpg "Leading pro-Putin journalist shot dead by stray bullet at Crimean military training ground 4")
According to reports, Babayeva was an instructor among the Shadowfolk [Wolf]International training center that taught security and survival skills to military personnel and civilians
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called her death an “irreparable loss,” RIA Novosti reports
Previously, she was the bureau chief of the state news agency RIA Novosti in the UK and US and was an editor at the major news agency gazeta.ru.
The day before her death, Babayeva had held talks with top Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, head of the RT media empire, about pro-Kremlin media coverage in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
A grieving Simonyan said: “Just yesterday I spoke to her about how we will develop in the new territories…
“Oh, Sweta [Svetlana] how could that happen…?’
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called her death an “irreparable loss,” RIA Novosti reports.
“She was a multi-talented journalist and just a lovely woman,” he said.
Babayeva’s boss Dmitry Kiselyov – sanctioned by the West – said she was a “warm-hearted person who strongly supports Russia” and “wanted to support our heroes”.
Russia’s spokeswoman for foreign affairs Maria Zakharova wrote: “I love you very much, Sveta.”
Sergei Aksyonov, Russian governor of Crimea, called her death an irrevocable loss.
“Svetlana has done a lot to convey the truth to the public about what is happening in the Kherson region,” said Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the mainly Russian-held territory of southern Ukraine in Kherson.
The Cheka-OGPU said the investigation into her death was being conducted by the 534th Military Security Service of the Russian Investigative Committee.