The Russian Embassy in Cyprus on Monday formally announced the death of one of its officials, A.V. Panov.
In a brief statement issued on Monday, 12 January 2026, the embassy described Panov’s death on 8 January as a “deeply personal tragedy” and confirmed that the mission is now coordinating with “competent Cypriot authorities” for the repatriation of his remains.
Cypriot police and forensic teams were reportedly barred from entering the embassy grounds in Nicosia to conduct a standard scene investigation.
The embassy maintains the death was a suicide.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled for Monday.
The discovery of Panov’s body coincided with the leak of a video targeting the Christodoulides administration, which state intelligence has linked to the Russian-led “Doppelganger” disinformation network. The footage, which alleged institutional corruption within the Presidential Palace, led to the resignation of the President’s Chief of Staff on Monday.
The government has linked this pressure to Cyprus assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and its recent hosting of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Read more: