Russian General Alexei Maslov, who held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation from 2004 to 2008, and was later Russia’s chief military representative to NATO, died suddenly in Moscow on Dec. 25, at the age of 69.

The machine-building company Uralvagonzavod, where the former general worked following his military career, reported Maslov’s death.

“The management of JSC Concern Uralvagonzavod reports with deep sadness that today, at 8:20 a.m. at the M.N. Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital, Alexei Fyodorovich Maslov suddenly died at the age of 69,” the company said in a statement.

Maslov was born on Sept. 23, 1953 in the village of Panske, Kursk Oblast. He retired from military service in October 2011.

Another high-profile death in Russia occurred on Dec. 24, when the general director of Admiralty Shipyards, a shipbuilding concern responsible for constructing Russian military submarines, also passed away at the age of 67.

(Source: THE NEW VOICE OF UKRAINE)