Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev, a senior official of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU, was shot multiple times in Moscow on Friday in what authorities described as a suspected assassination attempt, as per Russian media reports.
The alleged assassination took place near a residential building on Volokolamskoye Highway, where an unidentified assailant allegedly lay in wait for Alekseev before opening fire and fleeing the scene. The senior officer was rushed to hospital, while police launched a manhunt for the attacker, reports said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe into the shooting. Law enforcement agencies said the attack appeared to be targeted, given Alekseev’s senior position in the defence and intelligence establishment.
As per reports, Alekseev has served as the first deputy head of the GRU since 2011 and has been associated with several major intelligence operations. He has been under international sanctions for years, including measures imposed by the United States in 2016 for alleged cyber activities during the US presidential election.
The United Kingdom and the European Union reportedly sanctioned him over his alleged role in the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Canada also imposed sanctions on Alekseev in August 2022 for his alleged involvement in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the sanctions, Alekseev has remained influential in Moscow. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 2017 and played a role in negotiations with Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin during the aborted mutiny in 2023.
There has been no official comment from Ukraine, which has not been linked to the attack. The shooting comes weeks after another senior Russian military officer, Fanil Sarvarov, was killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow in December.
Authorities said investigations were continuing, and no official update had been issued on Alekseev’s condition.
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