A high-ranking Russian military intelligence officer, Lt Gen Vladimir Alexeyev, was shot multiple times on Friday morning in a residential block on the north-western outskirts of Moscow and was immediately hospitalized. His current condition remains unknown.
Alexeyev is the deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence and the latest senior military figure to be targeted in the capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago.
He was previously sanctioned by the European Union and the UK over the GRU’s alleged role in the 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury, UK.
Svetlana Petrenko of Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that a criminal case for attempted murder has been opened. The gunman fled the scene, and authorities are reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses to identify the attacker.
A neighbor told Reuters she was awakened by the sound of multiple gunshots, followed by screams for help. “Other neighbors rushed out, asking how they could assist and whether they should call an ambulance and police,” she said.
Alexeyev has played a key role in Russia’s operations during the war in Ukraine, including participating in talks over the siege of Mariupol in 2022.
He was also involved in negotiations with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin during the short-lived mutiny in June 2023. His superior, Igor Kostyukov, leads Russia’s negotiating team on security talks with the US and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin was being briefed on the shooting. “We wish first of all that the general survives and recovers. We hope that will be the case,” he told reporters.
It remains unclear who is behind the attack, though Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov publicly accused Ukraine. Kyiv has not commented but has previously claimed responsibility for some attacks on Russian military figures.
The shooting comes amid a series of attacks targeting senior GRU officers in Moscow. In December 2025, Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, in charge of operational training, was killed when an explosive device detonated under his car.
In January 2024, an Uzbek man was jailed for the killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection troops, in a Moscow apartment explosion. Ukrainian intelligence sources claimed responsibility for that attack.
