Mystery surrounds death of Russian blogger who reported on Putin’s war losses

Ukrainian soldiers from the 3rd Assault Brigade are seen in Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast on February 19, 2024 (Picture: Getty)

A prominent Russian military blogger was found dead, reportedly by suicide, after disclosing Vladimir Putin’s colossal losses in eastern Ukraine.

Pro-war correspondent Andrei ‘Murz’ Morozov revealed that 16,000 soldiers were killed in the battle for Avdiivka, which has been turned into a wasteland of rubble.

His death – reported earlier this morning by Z-channels ‘Phantom of Novorossiya’ and ‘Soldatskaya Pravda’, has ignited a storm of questions.

Lawyer Maxim Pashkov, who said he spoke to Morozov the previous night, said he had shot himself.

He was the author of the Telegram channel ‘They Write to Us from Ioannina’, with more than 100,000 subscribers, and a Russian army soldier.

A series of posts appeared today, saying that the author would ‘shoot himself’. He also asked readers ‘not to be sad’ about his death.

A Ukrainian soldier arrives severely wounded to the evacuation point after being removed from the Avdiivka battlefield (Picture: Getty)

A woman walks past apartment blocks that were destroyed in a Russian missile strike in Selydove near Avdiivka (Picture: Reuters)

Volunteers of the East SOS non-governmental organisation help a woman to board an evacuation train in Pokrovsk, Ukraine (Picture: Reuters)

In a suicide note, the 44-year-old complained of political persecution and said he was forced to delete a video from his channel showing the losses in the Donetsk region.

Just days before his death, Morozov disclosed that 16,000 Russians were killed in Avdiivka and about 300 armoured vehicles destroyed, for which he was criticised by Russian propagandists.

This has been hailed as Putin’s biggest victory since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, largely helped by the ruthlessness of Wagner mercenaries.

Russia may have claimed control of the strategic city – once with a population of at least 32,000 – but this breakthrough has come at a price for the army, despite Ukraine’s retreat.

Andrei Morozov reported on the killing of some 16,000 Russian soldiers in Avdiivka

The military gear from wounded Ukrainian servicemen are piled at the evacuation point (Picture: Reuters)

A view of the city of Avdiivka in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region on February 19, 2024 (Picture: AFP)

About 17,000 Russian soldiers were killed between October 10, 2023, when Russia launched its assault on the city, and February 17, 2024, Ukrainian official Dmytro Lykhovii said.

If confirmed, the offensive cost more lives than the 10 years of war Russia waged under the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Footage released by Russia’s defence ministry showed that almost every house in Avdiivka.

Ukraine said it withdrew its soldiers to evacuate them from being fully surrounded after months of fierce fighting.

Putin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as an important victory and congratulated Russian troops.

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