Russian general shot and wounded in Moscow, in latest attack on top military leaders

A Russian General Seriously Injured in Moscow Attack

A Russian general serving as deputy head of Russian military intelligence was shot and seriously wounded in Moscow on Friday, officials said — the latest in a series of attacks on top military figures.

An unknown attacker fired several shots at Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev in a residential building on Volokolamskoye Highway in Moscow and fled the scene, a Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson said in a statement.

The Russian Investigative Committee said its officers are at the scene and investigators are searching for the shooter.

The committee has opened a criminal case into what it called the attempted murder of a high-ranking defense ministry official.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Ukrainian government of being behind the attempted murder of Alekseyev, without citing evidence. Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the shooting.

Alekseyev, 64, has been transferred to a city hospital, the Investigative Committee statement said. He is in intensive care and in a serious condition following the shooting, according to Russian state media.

Background on Alekseyev’s Role

Alekseyev, the first deputy head of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, the GRU, was one of several GRU officials sanctioned by the United States in 2016 for wide-ranging malicious cyber activity directed at undermining US democratic processes.

He was also sanctioned by the European Union in January 2019 following a nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England, which the British government said was carried out by GRU agents to poison a former Russian spy.

The EU sanctions describe Alekseyev as “responsible for the possession, transport and use in Salisbury… of the toxic nerve agent ‘Novichok’ by officers from the GRU,” along with sanctioned Russian military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov.

Accusations and Involvement in the Ukraine War

Alexseyev has had significant involvement in the war in Ukraine, serving as one of Russia’s negotiators in the secret talks with a member of the Ukrainian parliament to end Russia’s 2022 siege of the strategic city of Mariupol, Ukraine.

A Ukrainian intelligence report on Alexseyev claims he has been responsible for “the organization of the preparation of initial data for launching missile and air strikes on Ukrainian territory,” including on civilian targets, as well as being responsible for the illegal referenda in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

Ukraine has also accused him of war crimes in Syria.

In 2023, Alekseyev was sent by the Russian military to negotiate with Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private mercenary group, during the Wagner group’s mutiny. At the time, he called Prigozhin’s actions a coup as well as “a stab in the back of the country and the president.”

Kremlin Response

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a Friday press briefing that the intelligence services were investigating the attack and would report any findings to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added: “We wish the general survival and recovery.”