Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, the first deputy chief of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, was seriously wounded after being shot several times by an attacker at a residential building in the northwestern part of Moscow on Friday, according to a statement from the Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. The assailant’s identity remains unknown, and no group has officially claimed responsibility for the attack.
Alekseyev, who has held his position since 2011, was reportedly shot multiple times and transported to a hospital for urgent medical care. Petrenko did not disclose any information regarding potential motives or suspects behind the incident targeted at the 64-year-old general.
Known for his distinguished military service, Alekseyev received the Hero of Russia medal for his involvement in Syria's military operations. He was visibly present in recent state media footage from June 2023, during the brief mutiny by Wagner Group mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, speaking at the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, located in southern Russia.
The attack occurred a day following the conclusion of a two-day negotiation summit in Abu Dhabi, where delegations from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States discussed possible pathways to resolving the protracted nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine. The Russian delegation was headed by Alekseyev’s superior, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, chief of Russian military intelligence.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed on the shooting. Peskov emphasized the necessity for law enforcement agencies to provide enhanced protection for senior military personnel, particularly amid ongoing hostilities linked to the Ukraine conflict.
No official commentary has emanated from Ukrainian authorities regarding the shooting. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled the incident a 'terrorist act' orchestrated by Ukraine aimed at undermining peace negotiations. Lavrov stated that the investigation is under the jurisdiction of Russian law enforcement.
Details reported by the business daily Kommersant indicate the attacker disguised as a delivery worker approached Alekseyev in the stairwell of his apartment complex. He shot Alekseyev twice, inflicting injuries to the foot and arm. Alekseyev attempted to disarm his assailant but was shot a third time in the chest before the perpetrator fled the scene.
Born in what was then Soviet Ukraine, Alekseyev progressed through Russia’s military ranks, commanding GRU operations in Syria, Ukraine, and other locations. He has been subject to sanctions imposed by the United States for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, and also faced sanctions from the United Kingdom and the European Union in connection with the 2018 poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine commenced in 2022, Moscow has regularly accused Kyiv of orchestrating assassinations targeting Russian military officers and other public figures. Ukraine has admitted responsibility for some of these events. Past targeted attacks include:
- In December, a car bomb killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, who headed the Operational Training Directorate of Russia's Armed Forces General Staff.
- In April, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head in the General Staff’s main operational department, died following a bomb planted in his car near his Moscow suburb residence.
A Russian national formerly residing in Ukraine confessed to carrying out Moskalik’s assassination, stating payment from Ukraine’s security services.
Following these incidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted receiving intelligence on the elimination of senior Russian military figures, affirming that 'justice inevitably comes,' though he did not explicitly mention Moskalik.
More recently, in December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed by an explosive device concealed on an electric scooter outside his apartment. His assistant was also killed. Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for this attack.