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Kremlin propagandist attacked in Russia, possibly killed, Ukraine's intelligence reports

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Kremlin propagandist attacked in Russia, possibly killed, Ukraine's intelligence reports
A screenshot of Aleksandr Korobov at work for the Russia 1 channel (Telegram/HUR)

Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said on Sept. 16 that a Kremlin propagandist has been killed in the Russian city of Belgorod.

In a post on Telegram, HUR said Aleksandr Korobov died on Sept. 15 after his skull was "crushed."

According to Russian news outlets, Korobov was heavily injured in an apparent assassination attempt.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claim.

Korobov – nicknamed "Crab" – appeared as a war correspondent on Kremlin state media channel, Russia 1, and HUR said he also headed its Belgorod branch.

"The propagandist not only prepared false materials about the war, but also personally participated in the commission of serious war crimes against Ukraine," military intelligence said, adding that Korobov regularly worked in occupied areas of Ukraine.

While HUR did not claim responsibility for the attack, the post included both current and former home addresses for Korobov, and noted he "periodically visited Moscow according to instructions."

It also contained what appears to be covertly recorded, and watermarked footage of a man resembling Korobov walking down the street which then cuts to a close-up of what HUR claims is his dead body.

"The military intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reminds that there will be a fair retribution for every war crime," the post reads.

The Kyiv Independent contacted HUR for confirmation of who was behind the attack. It replied with a smiling face with sunglasses emoji.

After HUR announced details of the attack, the head of the Belgorod State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, Nadezhda Vlasova, said Korobov was injured and in hospital, but had not been killed.

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Chris York

News Operations Editor

Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.

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