A high-ranking official from the Russian military intelligence department was wounded in a shooting incident in Moscow, which is part of a series of attacks on senior military figures that Russia has attributed to Ukraine. Lt.-Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev was shot multiple times by an unknown attacker at an apartment building in the northwest of Moscow and was subsequently hospitalized, according to a statement from Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.
The 64-year-old Alekseyev, who has been serving as the first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, also known as the GRU, since 2011, was targeted in the attack. He had been awarded the Hero of Russia medal for his contributions to Moscow’s military operations in Syria. The incident occurred shortly after Alekseyev was seen on state television meeting with mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin when the Wagner Group, under Prigozhin’s command, seized control of the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don during a brief mutiny.
The shooting took place following two days of discussions in Abu Dhabi involving Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. representatives, aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Russian delegation, led by Adm. Igor Kostyukov, the head of military intelligence, participated in the talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed on the attack, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasizing the need for enhanced protection of senior military personnel amid the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled the incident as a “terrorist act,” suggesting that it was orchestrated by Ukraine to disrupt peace negotiations. Ukrainian authorities have refrained from commenting on the shooting.
Alekseyev, who hails from Ukraine’s Soviet-era territory, climbed the ranks to oversee Russian military intelligence operations in various regions, including Syria and Ukraine. He had previously been sanctioned by Western nations for his alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. election interference and the 2018 poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, using the nerve agent Novichok.
Since Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine nearly four years ago, Moscow has attributed several assassinations of military officials and public figures to Kyiv, while Ukraine has taken responsibility for some of the incidents. In recent years, similar attacks have claimed the lives of several Russian military officers, including Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov and Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik.
Following Moskalik’s assassination, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged reports from Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency regarding the elimination of top Russian military leaders, hinting at the accountability for such actions. In another incident, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb concealed on an electric scooter outside his residence, with Ukraine’s security service claiming responsibility for the attack.