A key Putin propagandist was reportedly in serious condition fighting for his life after a mysterious accident involving an all-terrain vehicle.
Alexei Kostylev, 39, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-funded and pro-war Readovka news outlet, suffered multiple serious injuries in the Smolensk region.
Reports said Kostylev, who also ran a “patriotic” fashion brand that produces Stalin-style jackets, had suffered a “traumatic brain injury, brain hemorrhage, broken legs and broken neck.”
He was reported to be in a coma.
After emergency surgery, he was rushed to Moscow for further treatment.
Independent media SOTAvision said Kostylev was driving an all-terrain vehicle while standing at an extremely high speed.
Alexei Kostylev, 39, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-funded and pro-war Readovka news outlet, suffered multiple serious injuries in the Smolensk region.
He also ran a “patriotic” fashion brand that produces Stalin-style jackets.
Kostylev was a known Putin sycophant (pictured)
“He rolled over after hitting a bump in the road and the ATV fell on top of him.
‘Local residents rushed to the scene and took the man’s vehicle.
“The SOTAvision correspondent was told that he was unrecognizable: his face was very blurred.”
There was no independent confirmation of this report.
His staunchly pro-Kremlin and anti-Western news outlet Readovka, with almost 2.8 million followers, said: ‘We express our gratitude to all those who do not spread ‘versions’ from unconfirmed sources.
“We will keep you informed about Alexei’s condition.”
Another Telegram channel linked to the security services, VChK-OGPU, reported that no one had seen the accident that occurred after Kostylev overtook his aides in an all-terrain vehicle.
Ukrainian service members from the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade Hetman Taras Triasylo fire on Russian troops in a Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzer, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at a position in Donetsk region, Ukraine, 26 October 202
A view of damaged vehicles following a Russian rocket attack on a residential building that killed 5 people and injured 21 in Dnipro, Ukraine, on October 26, 2024.
He also reported that locals had come to help the upset propagandist.
The accident occurred while visiting the family of Vitaly and Svetlana Morozov, who left Latvia with ten children to live in a village in the Russian region of Smolensk.
The purpose of the trip was to make “propaganda” videos featuring a family who left the West to live in Putin’s Russia, VChK-OGPU said, adding that doctors had insisted that Kostylev was transported by road and not by air. to Moscow.
Readovka later reported: ‘Alexei was quickly transferred to the Smolensk regional clinical hospital.
“In the morning it was decided to transport the founder of the Readovka media outlet to Moscow, where he arrived for further treatment.”
The outlet said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with our editor-in-chief Alexei.
A Ukrainian service member from the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade Hetman Taras Triasylo drives a Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzer, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, at a position in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, October 26, 2024 .
A view of buildings and vehicles destroyed after the Russian rocket attack on Dnipro, Ukraine, October 25, 2024.
‘We will keep you informed with all operational information. An indomitable spirit will overcome anything.’
Readovka was originally founded by Kostylev in the Smolensk region, but then went national and in 2021 came under the rule of the obscure Yevgeny Prigozhin, who also owned Wagner’s private army and died last year in a plane crash.
The Readovka Telegram channel is seen as a key tool of the Kremlin during the war.
Reports of the accident were removed from local news websites and the regional Interior Ministry said it had no records of the incident in which Kostylev was injured in the village of Rukhan, about 145 kilometers from the city of Smolensk, in the western Russia.
His fashion store, 24 New Russian Brand, specializes in Russian and Soviet-inspired men’s clothing.
