Two generals died in Russia during the day: one built palaces for Putin, the other commanded troops in Ukraine

General Gennady Lopyrev, who was the head of the security service of the FSO (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) in the Caucasus, died on August 16 in the colony while serving a sentence for corruption offences. He was 69 years old and was preparing for parole. And 57-year-old Colonel General Gennady Zydko, who commanded all occupation groups in Ukraine from May to July 2022, died after a "serious illness".

The death of the former head of the FSO in colony No. 3 in the Ryazan region was reported by the journalists of the Russian portal RIA Novosti, citing Viktor Boborykin, head of the public oversight commission of the Ryazan region. "He died of disease, not crime", Boborykin said. At the same time, he did not specify what Lopyrev was suffering from.

The general who built palaces for Putin died in prison. What do we know about it?

The Russian channel Cheka-OGPU on Telegram writes, referring to the son of Lopyrev, that the former head of the FSO was preparing for parole, "he did not complain about anything, he was only diagnosed with arrhythmia all the time".

"On Monday, Gennady Lopyrev unexpectedly reported to the medical unit - he could not breathe and had a hoarse voice. His condition worsened and a special convoy transported the prisoner to Skopin. Local doctors were unable to make a diagnosis and transported the patient under escort to the Ryazan Regional Hospital. There, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with leukemia. In the evening he was transferred to the intensive care unit, where he died," the authors of the Telegram channel write.

In 2017, Lopyrev was sentenced to 10 years in prison for accepting a bribe of six million rubles for "patronage" in the implementation of a state contract, writes the portal Important Stories. RBC portal sources close to the Kremlin called Lopyrev "a very important figure". He was responsible for all state facilities in southern Russia, including Putin's Bocharov Ruchai residence in Sochi.

Journalist Dmitry Kolyezev believes that, as the head of the FSO in the Caucasus, Lopyrev may have known the details of the construction of Putin's palace in Gelendzhik.

A general who commanded the occupation forces in Ukraine has died in Russia

Yesterday, August 16, Russian media reported that 57-year-old Colonel General Gennady Zydko, who commanded the entire occupation group in Ukraine from May to July 2022, died in Moscow: "After a prolonged illness, the Hero of Russia, Colonel General Gennady Valerievich Zydko, died in Moscow".

In 2016, zydko was the chief of staff of the Russian Armed Forces grouping in Syria, in 2018 he was appointed commander of the Eastern Military District, and in 2021 he was appointed deputy defense minister of the Russian Federation - head of the Main Military and Political Department of the Russian Armed Forces.

In 2022, Zydko again became the commander of the Eastern Military District, and in May 2022 he replaced the commander of the Southern Military District, Aleksander Dvornikov, in the command of the occupation army in Ukraine. He was removed from that position in July.