Another sudden death of a senior official in Russia’s military supply chain has been reported following a string of unexplained deaths over the past week.
Alexei Fedorovich Maslov, former commander-in-chief of Russia’s ground forces and now special representative of the Uralvagonzavod military company, which specializes in main battle tanks, is said to have died unexpectedly in a military hospital on Christmas Day at the age of 70.
The company informed Telegram of his death, saying he remained loyal to Russia “until his last day.”
An abandoned Russian military tank is seen after Russian forces retreated from Balakliia as the Russo-Ukrainian war continues September 15, 2022 in Balakliia, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Maslov was reportedly born in the Kursk region, which borders northern Ukraine, and joined the army before graduating from the Kharkiv Guards Higher Tank Command School in 1974 – almost two decades before the fall of the Soviet Union, Euro Weekly reported.
By 2008, Maslov became Russia’s chief military representative to NATO.
No explanation was given for his death, although he appears to have died in Moscow at the NN Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital – over 1,000 miles west of the Uralvagonzavod plant where he is said to be working in the town of Nizhny Tagil.
Some reports suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to visit the tank factory on Christmas Eve but unexpectedly canceled his plans, although Fox News Digital has not been able to independently verify this.
Russian President Putin watches the launch of a missile aboard the nuclear missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy during naval exercises in Russia’s arctic north. (Portal/ITAR-TASS/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE Pictures of the Month August 2005)
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Maslov’s death also followed the unexpected death on December 24 of 67-year-old Alexander Buzakov, director general of United Shipbuilding Corporation, Admiralty Shipyards, which, among other things, manufactures carriers for Kalibr cruise missiles.
According to their website, Admiralty Shipyards has been described as the “foundation” of the Russian Navy, and Buzakov reportedly attended the launching of the new submarine Velikiye Luki in St. Petersburg on Friday, December 23.
Buzakov championed the submarine as an important step forward in Russia’s naval capabilities.
“It symbolizes the end of a certain major phase and of course promises us many successful final steps in the construction of the ship and its delivery to the Navy,” he said, according to Naval News.
Russian Navy ships are docked in Sevastopol Bay on March 4, 2014. Russian forces have surrounded Ukrainian military bases across Crimea as the Russian-speaking autonomous region was plunged into turmoil after the ouster of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovych last month. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP via Getty Images)
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The submarine is reportedly part of a fourth-generation non-nuclear fleet that ranks as the “most advanced” submarine in terms of combat capability.
Details of Buzakov’s death are also unknown.
The deaths of Buzakov and Maslov are just the latest in a string of unexpected deaths among Russia’s leaders, businessmen and dissidents since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering politics, US and world news.