The head of Russian military intelligence, accused of poisoning a former Russian double agent in Britain, has died.
Gen Col Igor Korobov, 63, died on Wednesday after a “serious and long illness”, the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday.
"The loving memory of this wonderful person, a true son of Russia, a patriot of the Fatherland Colonel General Igor Valentinovich Korobov will always be in our hearts," the ministry said.
Korobov's GRU spy agency was blamed for organising the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March this year.
Britain said two GRU operatives had travelled to the English town of Salisbury to carry out the attack using the military-grade agent, novichok.
Media reports suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin summoned Korobov to the Kremlin to discuss the Skripal affair which resulted in more than 20 countries expelling Russian diplomats.
The GRU's reputation fell further into disrepute this year after it was accused of interfering in the 2016 US election and of plotting an attack on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
In the days after the British government released images of the Salisbury attackers, the Netherlands said it had caught Russian agents trying to hack the global chemical weapons watchdog.
Korobov took over as GRU head in 2016 following the death of his predecessor Igor Sergun.
Sergun was 58 when he died suddenly in January 2016. His death was announced three weeks after he was reportedly sent to Syria by Mr Putin to order President Bashar Al Assad to step down as leader of the Syrian regime.
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Korobov's deputy, Vice Admiral Igor Kostyukov, 57, has been appointed as acting GRU chief.
He presided over a gala organised earlier this month to mark the centenary of the spying agency, a ceremony which Korobov was notably absent from.
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A foster couple or family must:
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- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
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(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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