Russian Businessman Who Opposed Ukraine Invasion Falls From Hospital Window, Dies

Ravil Maganov was born in 1954. He had worked at Lukoil since 1993 and was appointed the company's chairman in 2020.

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Vladimir Putin with Ravil Maganov after he received the Order of Alexander Nevsky. (Reuters)

A Russian businessman, chairman of the country's second largest oil company Lukoil, died on Thursday after falling from a Moscow hospital window, according to Vice News. Sixty-seven-year-old Ravil Maganov plunged from the sixth-floor window of the Central Clinical Hospital. He was being treated for a heart condition at the hospital, which is known to serve Russian elite and has earned the nickname 'Kremlin Clinic', the outlet further said in its report, quoting Russian news agency Interfax. Mr Maganov's company had opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Maganov was taken to the hospital after he complained of being depressed, the Vice News report further said. This was the same hospital where former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev died earlier this week.

According to the BBC, Lukoil confirmed the death of Mr Maganov but said "he passed away following a severe illness".

An investigation has been launched by local authorities to understand the reason behind the businessman's death, said the outlet.

Lukoil was one of the few major Russian companies to call for end of fighting in Ukraine after Moscow sent its troops to the pro-Western country in February.

In a statement in March, the company's board had called for an "immediate" end to the fighting, expressing its sympathy to those affected by the "tragedy".

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that Mr Maganov's death was not a matter for the Kremlin.

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Mr Maganov was born in 1954. He had worked at Lukoil since 1993 and was appointed the company's chairman in 2020.

He was among the first leaders of Lukoil and, according to the company, came up with its present name.

Lukoil's billionaire chief executive Vagit Alekperov had announced his resignation after he was hit by UK sanctions over the Ukraine offensive.

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There are other Russian oligarchs too who have died in unusual circumstances: Novatek's former manager Sergei Protosenya, former vice-president of Gazprombank Vladislav Avayev and former Lukoil tycoon Alexander Subbotin.

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