Igor Korobov, the head of GRU, Russian military intelligence, died at 62 "of a long and serious illness".
The news was given by a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry in Ria Novosti. Korobov, says the Defense, would have died "of a long and serious illness." According to Meduza, things could be slightly different. Korobov, Meduza writes, saw his illness begin following an outburst from Vladimir Putin, in mid-September, when military service was targeted by several independent investigations - primarily that of Bellingcat - which had led back to Gru the identity of Sergei Skripal's poisoners in Salisbury. The two poisoners, who had entered the UK under the false names of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were Gru officers, Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, and military doctor Alexander Mishkin.
Korobov, director in the GRU since 2016, has served the Soviet and Russian militaries since 1973 and was in the USSR military intelligence since 1985.
According to various sources, his interim successor has already been appointed: 57-year-old Igor Kostyukov, formerly the agency's first deputy director and appointed regent during his illness. The last word belongs to Putin, it will be the Russian president who will confirm the appointment of the head of military intelligence.