Igor Kostyukov

Admiral Igor Olegovich Kostyukov (Russian: И́горь Оле́гович Костюко́в; born 21 February 1961) is a Russian naval officer. As of 2018, he is the Head of the Russian General Staff's Main Intelligence Department (GRU).[1]

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is Olegovich and the family name is Kostyukov.
Admiral
Igor Kostyukov
Игорь Костюков
Director of Russian Military Intelligence
Assumed office
22 November 2018
PresidentVladimir Putin
MinisterSergey Shoygu
Preceded byIgor Korobov
Personal details
Born
Igor Olegovich Kostyukov

21 February 1961 (1961-02-21) (age 62)
Amur Oblast, RSFSR, USSR
AwardsHero of Russian Federation
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Union
 Russia
Branch/service Soviet Navy
 Russian Navy
RankAdmiral
Battles/warsRussian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
Russian invasion of Ukraine

Military career

Kostyukov was appointed the acting Director of GRU on 22 November 2018 following the death of his predecessor Igor Korobov and is a noted hardliner. This posting also made him the first naval officer in the history of the GRU to take the office of Director of Military Intelligence. He has been placed on the US Government's "blacklist" for allegedly interfering in the 2016 US presidential elections.[2] He was further promoted to the rank of Admiral in late 2019.

Sanctions

In March 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kostyukov was placed on a European Union "blacklist".[3]

March 2022 illness

On 25 March 2022, former Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov claimed that Kostyukov and Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu had had a sudden illness, stating, "The symptoms of both are exactly the same - heartburn, shortness of breath."[4] The Moscow Times considered Kostyukov to have disappeared from public view in mid-March together with other senior siloviki (key Russian security officials), including Sergey Shoigu, Viktor Zolotov and Valery Gerasimov.[5]

References
  1. "Vice Adm. Igor Kostyukov becomes head of Russia's military intelligence - source (Part 2)". interfax. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  2. "First naval officer nominated to head Russia's GRU". TASS. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  3. PDF, Wirtschaftskammer Wien (German), Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. "Аваков повідомив про погіршення здоров'я Шойгу та заступника начальника генштабу ЗС РФ: "Симптоми в обох абсолютно однакові"". 25 March 2022.
  5. "Not only Shoigu disappeared from public view, but other key security officials did too – Zolotov, Bortnikov and Kostyukov" [Из публичного пространства пропал не только Шойгу, но и другие ключевые силовики – Золотов, Бортников и Костюков]. The Moscow Times (in Russian). 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

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