A senior Russian military officer, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, was shot multiple times and injured in Moscow on Friday. He was immediately taken to a hospital after the attack, which occurred in a residential apartment complex in the north-western part of the city, and his current condition has not been disclosed.
Alexeyev is the deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence and is the latest high-ranking military figure to be targeted in Moscow since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began nearly four years ago. He was previously sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom 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. She said Alexeyev remains hospitalized while authorities review CCTV footage, interview witnesses, and search for the gunman, who fled the scene.
During the war in Ukraine, Alexeyev has played a prominent role, including participating in talks during the 2022 siege of Mariupol. He was also dispatched to negotiate with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, during the brief but violent mutiny in June 2023.
His superior, Igor Kostyukov, heads Russia’s GRU team involved in international security discussions with the United States and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin was being updated on the situation and added:
“We first and foremost wish the general a full recovery. We hope that will happen.”
The identity of the attacker and the motive behind the shooting remain unclear. Ukraine has previously claimed responsibility for certain attacks on Russian military officials, while Russian intelligence recently reported that it thwarted an attempted attack on a soldier in St. Petersburg at the end of last month.
This incident follows a series of high-profile attacks on Russian generals. In January, an Uzbek national was jailed for the 2024 killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov in a Moscow apartment explosion; Ukraine’s SBU intelligence claimed responsibility. Kirillov had overseen Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection forces.
In December 2025, Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, another senior GRU officer responsible for operational training, was killed when a bomb detonated beneath his car in Moscow.