Russian military intelligence chief Korobov dies
News & Trends •
dpanan the head of the russian military intelligence agency col.-gen. igor korobov who britain accused of poisoning a former double agent with a chemical weapon in southern england this year has died1 korobov 62 had served as chief of the main intelligence directorate commonly known by the russian acronym gru for nearly three years1 a distinguished aviator korobov died of a serious and long illness the russian defence ministry said in a statement on thursday using a phrase that implies cancer1 korobovs agency entered the international spotlight this year when britain accused it of perpetrating the near-fatal attack on former russian spy turned double agent sergei skripal in the southern english city of salisbury1 russian defence minister sergei shoigu was cited in the statement as expressing condolences over korobovs death which occurred on wednesday but he did not name a successor1 russian state media reported that the most probable successor is the agencys first deputy chief igor kostyukov currently serving as the interim chief1