Head of the Russian military spy agency accused of the Salisbury attack dies after being sick at 63

TThe head of Russian military intelligence, accused of orchestrating the attack on Salisbury Novichok, has died.

Igor Korobov, head of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, died Wednesday after "a long and serious illness," Russian news agencies reported, citing the Ministry of Defense.

The death of this 63 year old man comes after a series of embarrassments for the secret organization, for which he was allegedly reprimanded by President Vladimir Putin.

The Ministry of Defense, called General Korobov, who heads the spy agency since 2016, is "a wonderful person, faithful son of Russia and patriot of his country of origin". He did not give more details about his death.

General Korobov had been working in military intelligence since 1985. In 2016, Putin appointed him to head the General Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff – also known as the GRU .

He succeeded General Igor Sergun, who died at the age of 58. The circumstances of his death were not clear.

General Korobov was sanctioned with the other GRU officers by the United States for activities that "undermine cybersecurity on behalf of the Russian government".