Ex-Russian commander dies 'suddenly', Vladimir Putin's strange response: Report

Russia-Ukraine War: General Alexei Maslov's death comes after Alexander Buzakov, 65, general director of Admiralty Shipyards' sudden demise.

A former commander of Russian forces with close ties to Ukraine died “suddenly” the day after Vladimir Putin abruptly cancelled a trip to the tank enterprise where he worked, a report said. General Alexei Maslov, 69, passed away in a Moscow military hospital, The Mirror reported.

Russia-Ukraine War: General Alexei Maslov, 69, passed away in a Moscow military hospital.

General Alexei Maslov's death comes after Alexander Buzakov, 65, general director of Admiralty Shipyards' sudden demise in St Petersburg. Alexander Buzakov had been healthy the day before he died, and “nothing had been heard about Maslov's health problems”, the report said.

Alexei Maslov had been commander-in-chief of Russian ground forces between 2004 and 2008. He later served as the country’s chief military representative to NATO in Brussels. At NATO he worked alongside Dmitry Rogozin, an official close to Vladimir Putin, the report said.

The Russian president was due to visit the Uralvagonzavod plant in Nizhny Tagil - which has been criticised by the Kremlin for failing to produce sufficient new tanks for the war in Ukraine, the report said.

However, he cancelled his trip suddenly without any explanation, the report added.