Russian spy agency head dies, reportedly after a long illness
Igor Korobov, who had run the GRU spy agency since 2016, had been made a ‘Hero of Russia’ for his service
Moscow — The head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, which the West has blamed for a string of brazen attacks, died on Wednesday after “a serious and long illness”, the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday, hailing him as a “true son of Russia”. The Russian ministry of defence heaped praise on Col-Gen Igor Korobov, who was just 63, who had run the spy agency, best known as the GRU, since 2016, saying he had been made a “Hero of Russia” for his service in the post, the highest state award. “The loving memory of this wonderful person, a true son of Russia, a patriot of the fatherland Col-Genl Igor Valentinovich Korobov will always be in our hearts,” the ministry said in a statement. Defence minister Sergei Shoigu, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, expressed his condolences to Korobov’s relatives, while state news agency TASS cited a military source as saying vice-admiral Igor Kostyukov, the agency’s first deputy head, had been standing in for Korobov during his ill...
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