'Anti-War' Russian Oil Company Vice President Suddenly Dies... Fourth Among Executives

Global Crude Oil Producer 'Lukoil' with 2% Share
CEO, Chairman, and Board Chairperson Die After War

The vice president of Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company that voiced opposition to the invasion of Ukraine, has suddenly died. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, four executives of Lukoil, including the CEO, chairman, and chairman of the board, have died, including the recently deceased vice president.

On the 14th (local time), Euronews, a pan-European news outlet, reported citing Russian local media that Vitaly Robertus (54), vice president of Lukoil, hanged himself in his office on the 12th. Some local media reported that before entering the office, he complained of a headache and asked for medicine. Additionally, a company employee stated in a Telegram post announcing the vice president's obituary, "He did not leave his seat for several hours and did not answer calls. Employees went to his office and found the body. He died by asphyxiation suicide."

Fuel tank of Russian oil company Lukoil
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, Lukoil expressed sympathy for all victims shocked by this tragedy and urged the Russian government to resolve the issue through negotiation and diplomacy. About two months later, in May of the same year, Alexander Subotin, the CEO, suddenly died. He was found dead in the basement of a house in Mytishchi, Moscow, with the cause of death presumed to be a drug-induced heart attack. The next to die was Lukoil's former chairman, Ravil Maganov, who died in September of the same year after falling from a hospital window in Moscow. In October last year, Vladimir Nekrasov, chairman of the board, also suddenly died of heart failure.

Lukoil is known to produce 2% of the world's crude oil. The company has faced operational difficulties due to sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia following the Ukraine war but has not been subject to European Union (EU) sanctions.

Meanwhile, in Russia, several sudden and suspicious deaths have occurred besides the mysterious death of Putin's opponent Navalny in prison. On the 21st of last month, Russian military blogger Andrey Morozov (44) died. The exact cause of his death has not been revealed, but before his death, Morozov posted and then deleted posts about Russian troop losses, revealed that he was harassed after being ordered to delete posts, and hinted at the possibility of an extreme choice by asking to be buried in eastern Ukraine if he died.

Also, on the 13th of last month, Maxim Kuzminov (29), a former Russian military helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine, was found shot dead in Spain. The identity of the murderer and the specific circumstances of the killing have not been revealed. However, a vehicle suspected to have been used by the murderer in the crime was found burned about 20 km from the crime scene. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, about 50 people who criticized President Putin or the Russian government have died under mysterious circumstances.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.