Russian oil executive dies in fall from Moscow hospital window

theguardian.com:

A senior Russian oil executive has died after falling from the window of a Moscow hospital, months after his company criticised the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ravil Maganov, the chair of the board of directors of Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, “fell from a window at Central clinical hospital,” the Interfax news agency wrote on Thursday, citing a source. “He died from injuries sustained.”

Lukoil said Maganov had “passed away following a severe illness”. The company did not say what Maganov was being treated for.

It was not immediately clear whether his death was an accident, a suicide, or could be tied to foul play. Russian state media agencies citing an unnamed source reported that Maganov had been admitted to the hospital with a heart condition and had been on antidepressants.

Baza, a Russian news site with close ties to the police, suggested he may have slipped from a balcony while smoking.

Half a dozen businesspeople with ties to the Russian energy industry have died in apparent suicides or in mysterious circumstances since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. None of the deaths have been classified as murders.

Maganov’s death has attracted scrutiny because Lukoil was rare among Russian energy companies in criticising the invasion of Ukraine, publicly calling for a ceasefire just one week after Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of Moscow’s “special military operation”.

“Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims who are affected by this tragedy,” the board of directors of Lukoil said. “We strongly support a lasting ceasefire and a settlement of problems through serious negotiations and diplomacy.”

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Archie Bland and Nimo