A high-ranking official from Russian military intelligence sustained gunshot wounds in Moscow on Friday in an incident that occurred amid a series of targeted killings of senior military personnel, which Russia has attributed to Ukraine. Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev was shot multiple times by an unknown attacker at an apartment complex in northwest Moscow and was subsequently hospitalized, as stated by Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.
Petrenko refrained from attributing the attack on the 64-year-old Alekseyev, who has held the position of first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, known as the GRU, since 2011. Alekseyev was awarded the Hero of Russia medal for his involvement in Moscow’s military operations in Syria. A televised appearance in June 2023 showed him conversing with mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin when the Wagner Group, under his command, seized control of the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don during a brief mutiny.
The shooting incident occurred following the conclusion of talks held in Abu Dhabi, involving Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. negotiators, aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Russian delegation was led by Adm. Igor Kostyukov, the head of military intelligence. Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the attack, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasizing the need for enhanced protection of senior military officials during the Ukrainian conflict.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterized the shooting as a possible “terrorist act” orchestrated by Ukraine to disrupt peace negotiations, delegating the investigative responsibility to law enforcement agencies. Ukrainian authorities have yet to comment on the incident.
According to the business publication Kommersant, the assailant, posing as a delivery person, shot Alekseyev twice in the stairwell of his residential building, causing injuries to his foot and arm. Alekseyev attempted to disarm the attacker but was shot in the chest before the assailant fled the scene. Born in Ukraine during its Soviet era, Alekseyev ascended through the ranks to oversee Russian military intelligence operations in countries like Syria and Ukraine.
Having faced sanctions from Western nations for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. election and suspected involvement in the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, Alekseyev has been a controversial figure. Since Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, a string of assassinations targeting military officials and public figures in Russia has been linked to Ukraine, although Ukraine disputes responsibility for some incidents, including Alekseyev’s shooting.
In past instances, such as the car bombing that killed Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov and the assassination of Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik through an explosive device, Ukraine has been accused by Russia of orchestrating attacks on Russian military personnel. A Russian national, formerly residing in Ukraine, admitted to carrying out one attack and claimed to have been compensated by Ukrainian security services.
Following these incidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referenced the elimination of senior Russian military figures, hinting at justice served for such actions. Notably, in December 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, fell victim to a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his residence, an attack for which Ukraine’s security service took credit.