Russian journalist who covered Wagner Group mercenary deaths in Syria dies after falling from balcony

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Screenshot of Russian soldiers in the Syrian desert.

• A Russian journalist who wrote about Russian mercenaries in Syria has died from injuries sustained after falling from a balcony.
• Maxim Borodin, 32, died at a hospital on Sunday after falling from his fifth-floor balcony in Yekaterinburg on Thursday.
• Borodin's death was deemed a suicide by officials.

A Russian journalist who wrote about Russian mercenaries in Syria has died from injuries he sustained after falling from a balcony.

Maxim Borodin, 32, died at a hospital on Sunday after falling from his fifth-floor balcony in Yekaterinburg on Thursday, according to the Associated Press and RFERL.

The Associated Press reported that it was unclear how Borodin fell, but RFERL reported that officials are considering his death to be a suicide.

Borodin wrote for a news website called Novy Den where he covered crime and corruption, RFERL reported. He recently helped break the story about the deaths of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries from Asbest who were killed in Syria during a fight with the US military in February.

Borodin's editor at Novy Den, Polina Rumyantseva, said on Sunday that she doesn't believe he committed suicide, RFERL reported.

The Wagner Group has about 2,500 mercenaries in Syria, according to the BBC.