Putin Ally Appears on Russian State TV Covered in Mysterious Bruises

A top Kremlin propagandist recently appeared on Russian state television with mysterious bruises on his face.

Vladimir Solovyov refused to explain how he got the bruises, according to a tweet from Nika Melkozerova, the executive editor of The New Voice of Ukraine.

Solovyov, a pro-Kremlin television presenter who is known as "Putin's voice," was seen in a screenshot shared by Melkozerova with reddish bruises on his forehead, nose and cheeks.

"He sound sad and refused to explain where he got bruises. 'not your damn deal!' He said to fellow Russian propagandists," Melkozerova wrote.

Twitter users responded with their own theories about how Solovyov sustained the bruises.

Russian President Vladimir Putin "doesn't think he's putting enough effort in," one user wrote.

Some referenced the trend of Russians mysteriously falling to their deaths from windows, with one writing: "Must have fallen out of a ground floor window."

Writer and investigator Natalia Antonova wrote: "Lots of great detectives on the case, so I'll just mention my boring theory: A battle of wits with a price-gouging coke dealer has entered a hot phase."

Journalist Quinton Mtyala said: "I guess there's no such thing as occupational health and safety for Putin's propagandists. You literally roll with the punches when coming in to work."

In a recent segment on Russian television, Solovyov spoke at length about why Soviet gulags were better than concentration camps in Nazi Germany.

"In Soviet labor camps, they knew your name, and under which law you were imprisoned," Solovyov said, according to a translation by Julia Davis, a a columnist for The Daily Beast and the creator of the Russian Media Monitor.

"You were an individual. In German concentration camps, you had no individuality."

He went on to say that the "goal of the Soviet camp was to re-educate," while German concentration camps "had the goal of destroying you as a person and then to break you down into parts."

Late in August, Solovyov said Russia was fighting a war against NATO as a whole and that Russia has "liberated over 20 percent of Ukraine's territory" and "around 10 million Ukrainian citizens from Nazi authorities."

He also expressed confusion at Russia's stance.

"The west is moving towards an open confrontation with Russia, by leaps and bounds," he said. "Politely speaking, I think we're acting strangely. Do we have any doubts that sooner or later NATO will enter into a direct military confrontation against us?"