Russian Propagandist’s Husband Keosayan in Coma: Rumors Link Illness to Ukrainian Intel

Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian propaganda media outlet Russia Today (RT), that her husband, Tigran Keosayan, suffered clinical death and is now in a coma.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but since reporters have started calling, I’ll write it myself. My husband, Tigran Keosayan, suffered clinical death and is in a coma. As many know, he has had severe heart problems for a very long time,” she wrote in a Jan. 8 Telegram post.

The Russian propagandist added that she “doesn’t know how to record stories from the ICU and take selfies of her tears but asks for forgiveness for not posting on social media.”

Since 2016, Tigran Keosayan has hosted the propaganda program International Sawmill on the Russian NTV channel. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU, UK, Canada, and Australia imposed sanctions against him.

Currently, social media is abuzz with rumors of Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) involvement in Keosayan’s sudden illness. Pro-Russian blogger Anatoly Shariy claims Keosayan was “poisoned by HUR operatives on Zelensky’s personal orders.”

A screenshot allegedly from Shariy’s Telegram channel was shared on Facebook by user Oleksandr Bukhtiyar. In his profile description, he identifies himself as a PR specialist and is also known as the co-founder of the Mobile Doctors project.

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According to this post, the poisoning occurred yesterday at a Moscow restaurant where Tigran and Margarita dined.

“Keosayan began to feel unwell while still at the restaurant — severe diarrhea started, and he literally couldn’t leave the bathroom until paramedics arrived. I have photos of the bathroom he was in. I’m unsure whether to publish them, but it was chaos — stains not only on the walls but even on the ceiling,” Shariy said.

According to him, standard treatments were ineffective, and Keosayan’s condition continues to deteriorate.

“During the night, a sphincter rupture occurred, and against the backdrop of a body weakened by a toxic substance, clinical death followed. His chances of survival are minimal,” Shariy said.

He also claims his sources in HUR revealed the toxin was specially developed to eliminate those Kyiv considers propagandists, suggesting Margarita Simonyan may have been the intended target instead of her husband.

“The top leadership has been informed. They are furious. I think there will be a strike on Kyiv,” Shariy added.

Kyiv Post could not independently verify these claims. The publication reached out to its intelligence sources, who declined to comment on allegations of НUR involvement in Keosayan’s poisoning.

In December 2023,  Kyiv Post sources reported that former Russia Today director Anton Kuznetsov-Krasovsky, known for advocating genocide against Ukrainians and calling for the murder of Ukrainian children, had also been poisoned.

“At the start of the week, I suddenly had severe abdominal pain, nausea, and then passed out. I was taken to a clinic. Slowly recovering,” Krasovsky wrote on his Telegram channel.

However, Kyiv Post sources said his condition continues to worsen and suggested his recent posts may not have been written by him.

In response to Kyiv Post’s report at the time, Kremlin state media claimed Krasovsky’s colleague Margarita Simonyan had called him and that he was “coming to his senses.”