Leading pro-Putin female journalist shot dead by ‘stray bullet’ at Crimean military training ground
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Leading pro-Putin female journalist is shot dead by ‘stray bullet’ at Crimea military training ground
- Svetlana Babayeva, 50, died in a shooting in Crimea
- The pro-Putin journalist was shot 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 a bizarre ‘ricochet’ from a bullet, but neither has been confirmed
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A leading pro-Putin female journalist has been shot dead by a ‘stray bullet’ at a military training ground in Crimea.
Svetlana Babayeva, 50, died in a ‘military sports shooting’ in Simferopol, the peninsula’s capital.
No further details were officially released about the ‘accident’.
The mysterious shooting is being investigated by military rather than civilian state investigators.
A source told Cheka-OGPU Telegram that the Russian woman was killed by a bullet from her own weapon.
Svetlana Babayeva, 50, died in a ‘military sports shooting’ in the peninsula’s capital, Simferopol
Meanwhile, news channel MK quoted a source as saying she was killed by a bizarre bullet ‘ricochet’.
However, neither could be confirmed and the mystery remains behind the death of Babayeva, who was head of the bureau of media group Rossiya Segodnya in Simferopol.
Her death brought expressions of grief from leading Putin officials and propagandists.
Babayeva was reportedly an instructor with the shadowy People [Wolf]International Training Center where military and civilians learned security and survival skills.
She is said to have provided tactical training services to armed groups and bodyguards.
![Babayeva was reportedly an instructor with the shadowy People [Wolf]International Training Center that taught security and survival skills to military personnel and civilians](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1667060934_716_Leading-pro-Putin-female-journalist-shot-dead-by-stray-bullet-at.jpg "Leading pro-Putin female journalist shot dead by 'stray bullet' at Crimean military training ground 2")
Babayeva was reportedly an instructor with the shadowy People [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’, reports RIA Novosti
She was previously bureau chief for the state-run RIA Novosti news agency in Britain and the US, and was editor of the major news channel gazeta.ru.
The day before she died, Babayeva was in conversation with leading Putin propagandist Margarita Simonyan, head of the RT media empire, about coverage by the pro-Kremlin media in Ukraine’s invaded territories.
A sad Simonyan said: ‘Yesterday I discussed with her how we will develop in the new areas…
“Oh, Sveta” [Svetlana] how could it happen…?’
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called her death an “irreparable loss,” RIA Novosti reports.
“She was a versatile journalist and just a charming woman,” he said.
Babayeva’s boss Dmitry Kiselyov – sanctioned by the West – said she was a “warm person, who strongly supported Russia” and wanted to “support our heroes”.
Russian spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote: “I love you very much, Sveta.”
Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian governor of Crimea, called her death an irrevocable loss.
“Svetlana has done a lot to convey to the public the truth about what is going on in the Kherson region,” said Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the southern, mostly Russian-occupied territory of Kherson.
Cheka-OGPU said the investigation into her death would be conducted by the 534th Military Security Service of the Russian Investigative Committee.