Russian General Alekseyev Shot In Moscow, Allegedly By Ukrainian Agents

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy chief of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), was shot multiple times in a Moscow apartment building on Friday, and hospitalized in critical condition.

The attack occurred in the northwestern part of the city, where an unidentified assailant—reportedly posing as a delivery person—fired several shots at Alekseyev in the stairway of his residential building. He sustained wounds to his foot, arm, and chest, and reportedly underwent surgery, remaining in a coma, according to Kremlin sources.

Russian authorities, including the Investigative Committee and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, confirmed the incident and opened a criminal case for attempted murder.

Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had been informed and that security services were investigating.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Ukraine, calling the attack a “terrorist act” intended to disrupt ongoing U.S.-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which concluded the day before.

Ukrainian officials have not officially commented on the attack. However, Denys Prokopenko, commander of Ukraine’s Azov Regiment, posted on X that if Alekseyev survives, he “will never sleep peacefully again,” framing the attack as retribution for alleged war crimes.

Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) has previously listed Alekseyev as a war criminal for his role in intelligence operations supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including attacks on civilian targets and the orchestration of referendums in occupied territories.

Alekseyev, a Ukrainian-born officer, has been under Western sanctions since 2016 for alleged involvement in cyberattacks during the U.S. presidential election and for his alleged role in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. He also allegedly played a key role in negotiating with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin during his 2023 mutiny and was awarded the title Hero of Russia in 2017.

This attack is part of a pattern of targeted killings of Russian military officials inside Russia, including the December 2024 bombing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and April 2025 killings of Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik and Fanil Sarvarov—acts Russia has blamed on Ukraine, which has claimed responsibility for some.

The timing—just after high-level peace talks—has heightened speculation about escalation. While President Volodymyr Zelensky has not made any public statement as of the time of publication, Ukrainian intelligence has previously acknowledged targeting Russian military figures, stating that “justice inevitably comes.”