The head of Russia's GRU dies after "prolonged illness"

[Borealis]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna939261

MOSCOW — The head of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency that the West has blamed for a string of brazen attacks died on Wednesday after "a serious and long illness," the
Russian defense ministry said.

State news agency TASS cited the ministry as saying Igor Korobov, 62, who ran the spy agency since 2016, had been made a Hero of Russia for his service in the post, the highest state
award. Britain has accused the GRU of attempting to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent in the city of Salisbury, the Netherlands has
accused it of trying to hack the global chemical weapons watchdog, and U.S. intelligence agencies say it tried to hack the 2016 presidential election. Russia denies all those
allegations.

Speculation about Korobov's fate had been growing since an unconfirmed Russian media report that he had been summoned by President Vladimir Putin after the Skripal affair and
severely criticized for the operation which left the Skripals alive and the GRU a target of mockery in the Western media.

Korobov was absent from a ceremony in Moscow this month where Putin and other senior officials celebrated the centenary of the GRU, with the Russian leader praising its skill and
"unique abilities."

Operatives of the agency, widely known by its old acronym of GRU, set an example for a future generation of military spies, said Putin, himself a former intelligence officer, citing their
readiness to sacrifice everything "for the motherland."

Korobov's death paves the way for Putin to appoint a successor to head an agency that intelligence experts say has stepped up its covert missions as tension mounts between Russia
and the West, which has imposed sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.

Asked last month if there would be a shake-up at the defense ministry in the aftermath of the Skripal affair, the Kremlin said the low quality of the allegations leveled at GRU did not
justify such changes.

The United States included Korobov's name on a March sanctions blacklist of people believed to have helped "undermine cyber security on behalf of the Russian government".

[Instant Mix]

Ah yes, let me guess - the prolonged illness of "acute poisoning"?

[Clovis]

Was it epilepsy?

[chipsnapper]

Litvinenko is rolling in his grave right now.

[Megalan]

For those of you who don't know - in Russia "prolonged illness" means cancer.

[Lowland]

He ate bad fish.

[Clovis]

Polonium-scented salmon is a delicacy in Russia.

[revengeanomics]

What if thats the only way to die for a russian?
Getting assassinated or severe alcohol poisoning

[Rastadogg]

I wonder what the actual statistics are on how many Russian politicians actually die of natural causes.

[Del91]

I mean, gunshots and radiation poisoning are natural causes for Russian politicians

[Clovis]

I don't know, but the list of Russian journalists killed under Putin is certainly telling:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia#Under_Putin

[27X]

You forgot the by in there

[FlandersNed]

I don't know if this is mentioned in the article, but I think he only became noticeably sick after returning home from the dressing-down that Putin gave him.