Istanbul: A former Russian army chief with long-standing ties to Ukraine has died “suddenly” at the age of 69, the tank factory where he worked has reported.
No further explanation was given by the Uralvagonzavod machine-building company, the world’s largest tank manufacturer, where Alexei Maslov was an international sales representative. Its factory is at Nizhny Tagil, 1600 km east of Moscow.
Alexei MaslovCredit:NEXTA
Maslov, who was the commander in chief of Russia’s ground forces from 2004 to 2008, died on Christmas day at a military hospital in Moscow, the company said.
Uralvagonzavod called him a “distinguished commander who made a valiant journey from a platoon commander to the commander-in-chief of the ground forces”.
Maslov came from a Russian region bordering on Ukraine and had close ties there. His military career began in Soviet Ukraine, where he studied in a top college for military commanders in Kharkiv. He was later stationed in the Carpathian mountains on the border with Romania.
After his four-year stint commanding Russia’s found forces, Maslov was appointed deputy to Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s then-envoy to NATO in Brussels.
Rogozin, a staunch supporter of the Ukraine invasion, was wounded in a Ukrainian artillery strike last week.
On Tuesday he described the general as an “experienced officer, a demanding commander and a good person”.
