Igor Korobov, head of Russia’s GRU spy agency, dies at 62

MOSCOW (AP) — Igor Korobov, head of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, which has been accused of meddling in US elections, has died in Moscow. He was 62.

The Defense Ministry said Thursday in a statement that Korobov, who led the GRU since 2016, died Wednesday of “a lengthy and grave illness,” a common Russian euphemism for cancer. His predecessor had died two years earlier, at 58.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu offered condolences to Korobov’s family, but did not immediately name his successor.

The United States and its allies have accused the GRU of hacking the 2016 US presidential campaign, orchestrating the March nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in Britain, and disrupting anti-doping efforts in world sports. Russian authorities have rejected the accusations, calling them part of a Western smear campaign.

This has been a tough year for the GRU, which has faced a series of exposures that revealed its inner workings.

Alexander Petrov, left, and Ruslan Boshirov, right, were charged by British prosecutors with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. (Metropolitan Police)

In September, British intelligence released surveillance images of GRU agents accused of the nerve agent attack on former GRU officer and British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. The investigative group Bellingcat and the Russian site The Insider quickly exposed the agents’ real names, and media outlets, including The Associated Press, were able to confirm their real identities.

Dutch authorities have also recently identified four alleged GRU agents who tried to hack the world’s chemical weapons watchdog from a hotel parking lot.

Putin visited the GRU headquarters earlier this month to congratulate the agency on its centenary, praising it for its professionalism.