Pro-Russia American Blogger Dies in Ukrainian Prison Months After Attempt to Escape Country

American YouTuber Gonzalo Lira, who was imprisoned in Ukraine in 2023 for “justifying Russian aggression,” has reportedly died in prison.

The Details: TASS and Newsweek (Center bias) reported speaking to a U.S. State Department official who confirmed “the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine.”

For Context: Lira, age 55, was last heard from in July when he posted on X that he was attempting to seek political asylum in Hungary. 

Key Quote: “Either I’ll cross the border and make it to safety, or I’ll be disappeared by the Kiev regime,” Lira said in a thread on X that also outlined alleged inhumane treatment he received while previously in Ukrainian jail.

Cause Of Death: The Grayzone reportedly received a note from Lira via his father, in which he said he endured a three-month battle with pneumonia, which was ignored by authorities until weeks before his death. Newsweek wrote that the cause of Lira’s death has not been confirmed.

How The Media Covered It: The story was not covered by many mainstream outlets but was widely shared on X, most prominently by Tucker Carlson (Right bias) and Glenn Greenwald (Center bias). All three featured sources referred to Carlson’s commentary on the matter. Greenwald criticized Biden and “his top officials” for never publicly mentioning Lira’s name. Newsweek led its article referring to Lira as a former “pick-up artist” who “baselessly branded Ukraine’s leader a ‘cokehead.’” AllSides did not find coverage from any outlets on the Left.