Fresh investigative findings have reignited serious political and institutional questions in Cyprus following the death of Anton Panov, the Russian diplomat and cryptographer found dead inside the Russian Embassy in Cyprus on 8 January. According to a detailed report by The Insider, Panov’s role extended far beyond his formal title, pointing to direct links with Russia’s intelligence services and senior state officials, while Cypriot authorities were entirely barred from the scene.
Contacts With Lavrov And Intelligence Services
According to The Insider, Panov held telephone communications prior to his posting to Cyprus with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, senior officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry, and diplomats who, the outlet notes, frequently operate under intelligence cover or in coordination with security services.
Although officially described as a “third secretary”, Panov was reportedly connected to the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the nationalist LDPR, and a specialised unit of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, involved in cyber-espionage. The investigation also links him to individuals wanted by Ukrainian authorities, including Sergei Tsekhov, and to a Lugansk-based informant known as “Sasha Sniper”.
Telephone records cited by The Insider show that shortly before his deployment to Cyprus, Panov contacted Lavrov, the minister’s adviser Bakhtier Khakimov, deputy ministers Mikhail Bogdanov and Galina Shulga, and Andrei Lisikov, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Monetary and Financial Department. That department is frequently associated with the placement of active intelligence officers from the SVR and the GRU under diplomatic cover.
A Network Spanning Diplomacy, Cyber Operations And Donbas
Additional calls reportedly included Russian ambassadors in Moldova and Hungary, Vasily Vasnetsov and Evgeny Stanislavov, a counsellor at the Russian embassy in Uzbekistan, and Sergei Tsekhov, a former senator of occupied Crimea who is wanted by Ukraine.
One contact stored as “Sasha Sniper” was identified as Alexander Borisov, a Lugansk-born figure known for denouncing opposition politicians and independent media. Borisov previously organised pro-Russian rallies in Crimea and Donbas, later joining separatist armed formations as a sniper against Ukrainian forces. In subsequent years, he founded a Moscow-based charity organising international exhibitions of children’s drawings from occupied Ukrainian territories, raising substantial donations.
Background In Security Services
Panov studied at the Information Technologies and Special Communications Systems school, affiliated with the academy of Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO) in Voronezh, and maintained close ties with former classmates. After graduation, he served as a cryptographer at the Scientific and Technical Centre “Atlas” of the FSB, before being seconded to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Relations with Compatriots Abroad.
Sources cited by The Insider say his appointment was facilitated by Ilya Sosnovsky, aide to LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky, a figure long associated with Russia’s security services. During the same period, Panov was reportedly in operational contact with SVR lieutenant colonel Dmitry Petritsev, formerly assigned to a Moscow-based intelligence unit specialising in social media analysis and online surveillance.
Death Inside Embassy Grounds
Panov’s death was announced by the Russian embassy in Cyprus on 12 January, stating that he had died on 8 January without disclosing the cause, referring to him only as an “embassy employee”. Later reports by the VChK-OGPU platform and the independent outlet Important Stories described him as an SVR officer and cryptographer, also alleging a gambling addiction.
According to Russian journalistic sources, further disclosures surrounding the death of the Russian operative inside embassy premises in Nicosia are expected, intensifying scrutiny over the case and the broader implications for state sovereignty and accountability on Cypriot soil.