In Moscow on Friday, a senior Russian general linked to the intelligence support of the war against Ukraine was wounded. Authorities described the incident as an attempted assassination.
The official in question is Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, a deputy head of the GRU—Russia’s military intelligence service. According to the Investigative Committee, the assailant shot him in the back inside a building in northern Moscow. The general was taken to hospital; officials did not specify his condition at the time. Investigators said the gunman managed to escape.
The attack came a day after Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU, led Russia’s delegation in talks with Ukraine in the United Arab Emirates. The discussions produced no significant results, though both sides said they were prepared to resume dialogue at a later date.
Alekseyev was among the key military figures providing the Kremlin with intelligence during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, he also took part in talks with Yevgeny Prigozhin when the head of the Wagner mercenary group launched a short-lived mutiny.
The incident was the latest in a series of attacks and killings of senior Russian military officers in Moscow. In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed—an explosive device planted in a scooter detonated as he was leaving his home. In the spring of last year, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik of the General Staff died when his car was blown up near his residence. In December of that same year, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, who headed the General Staff’s operational training directorate, was killed in a blast caused by a bomb placed beneath his vehicle.
Ukrainian officials, who have previously claimed responsibility for some such attacks, did not immediately comment on the attempt on Alekseyev.