Russian war blogger dies in apparent suicide after facing criticism for revealing Moscow’s losses

By The Associated Press

A Russian military blogger has died in an apparent suicide after facing a barrage of criticism for revealing heavy losses in Ukraine, and his supporters have blamed Kremlin propagandists for his death. Andrei Morozov, who also served as a soldier on the front line in Ukraine, said in his last post Wednesday that he decided to “execute” himself to help his comrades in arms avoid a fallout from his critical publications, which angered the military command. Maxim Pashkov, a lawyer who knew him, confirmed Morozov’s death in a statement, saying he shot himself dead. Morozov wrote recently that about 16,000 Russian troops were killed in a four-month battle for the stronghold of Avdiivka that fell to Russia over the weekend.