Vladimir Nekrasov, the chairman of Russia's second-largest oil producer Lukoil, has died suddenly at the age of 66 after suffering acute heart failure, the company said on Oct. 24.

Lukoil said Nekrasov had worked for almost 50 years in the oil and gas sector. He had also worked as Lukoil's first vice president and an adviser to the company's president.

Lukoil, contacted by Reuters, declined further comment about Nekrasov's death.

The previous head of Lukoil's board, Ravil Maganov, died in September 2022 after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Several Russian businessmen, most with ties to the energy industry, have died suddenly in unclear circumstances in the months following the start of what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

Unusually among Russian companies, Lukoil took a public stand over Moscow's operation in Ukraine. In a March 3, 2022 statement, the company's board of directors expressed its concern over the "tragic events" in Ukraine and called for the "earliest possible end to armed conflict" via negotiations.

The statement remains on the company's website.