The editor for one of Vladimir Putin's biggest propaganda TV channels has been found dead alongside her ex-husband.
It is thought that 48-year-old Zoya Konovalova was found dead from a suspected poisoning.
Konovalova ran a channel operating near the frontlines of Putin's war against Ukraine.
She was found in her bedroom with her 52-year-old former husband Andrey Gubatiyka's corpse found close by.
Head of Russian state-run propaganda TV found dead alongside ex-husband after mysterious ‘poisoning’
East2West/Getty
An investigation into their deaths has now been launched by the Russian Investigative Committee.
A spokesperson from the Committee said: "No visible injuries were found during the examination of the bodies. Forensic medical examinations have been arranged.”
The pair are survived by a daughter, 15, and an adult son.
They are believed to have been dead for at least 24 hours before their bodies were discovered.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
The Krasnodar region has been heavily targeted by Ukraine during the conflict.
WikiCommons
The Kuban media outlet which she worked for is part of the state-run All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company [VGTRK].
A fragment of a plastic bag with a "powdery substance" was reportedly found in the TV chief’s private house in Krasnodar city.
But her colleagues and friends insisted today that she would never have taken drugs.
It's the the first tome a prominent Russian media figure has been found dead, as 35-year-old deputy editor-in-chief of Putin’s favourite newspaper Anna Tsareva was found dead in Moscow.
Meanwhile Vladimir Solovyov, a top presenter and frothing propagandist at VGTRK, had been targeted by Ukraine in an assassination bid according to Russia.
Konovalova was influential as an editor in Krasnodar region, which lies across the Kerch Strait from annexed Crimea.
Putin’s official Black Sea residence is in this region, as is his £3 billion cliff top palace at Gelendzhik.
The Krasnodar region has been heavily targeted by Ukraine during the conflict.