Head of Russian military intelligence GRU dies

Head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) General Colonel Igor Korobov has died aged 63 after a serious illness, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Defense Ministry expressed condolences to Korobov's family and friends, TASS reported.

Igor Korobov was born on November 3, 1956 in Vyazma. He started serving in the military in 1973. He graduated from the Stavropol Higher Military Aviation Schoold of Pilots and Navigators of the Air Defense Forces, Military Academy of the Soviet Army and Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Korobov worked in military intelligence since 1985 and occupied different positions in the Main Directorate. Over the years of his military service, Korobov received many awards and medals.

In 2016 he was appointed by a presidential decree as the head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.