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Founder of Pro-War Outlet Readovka Arrested in Russia Over $13M Drone Fraud Case
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Alexei Kostylev, the founder and former editor-in-chief of the Russian pro-war media outlet Readovka, was detained on suspicion of large-scale fraud, according to Meduza on February 27.
Meduza, citing RBC, reported that Kostylev was detained on February 25 and that investigators sought his pre-trial detention on charges under Russia’s fraud statute.
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RBC’s sources said the case was linked to a project Kostylev promoted in Russia’s Smolensk region, described as the planned construction of a recreation base called “Korsiki-Rukhanskie.”
Other outlets, citing court reporting and investigators’ statements, said the case involved allegations that about $13 million intended for drone procurement under Russian Defense Ministry contracts that was stolen.
Moscow court ordered Kostylev held in pre-trial detention for two months.
Readovka’s holding company said it was cooperating with investigators and claimed the criminal case was not connected to its publishing business or its information resources.
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Kostylev founded Readovka in Smolensk in 2011, originally as a VK public page. Ideologically, the outlet took a nationalist position.
In 2021, the website faced blocks, but the authorities later dropped their complaints. After that, Readovka adopted a pro-Kremlin stance.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has become one of the most popular “Z” channels , with an audience of more than 2 million people.
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According to a number of reports, by 2022 the outlet had effectively come under the control of structures linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman who founded the Wagner mercenary group and later led a brief mutiny before dying in 2023.
Earlier, it was reported that Russian authorities and pro-war insiders signaled plans to use legal pressure to discipline and sideline outspoken “Z” military bloggers amid infighting and complaints about Defense Ministry mismanagement.
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