A senior Russian military intelligence officer was critically injured in a shooting outside his Moscow home, marking a significant escalation in targeted attacks on high-ranking military figures linked to the Ukraine conflict.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), was shot multiple times by an unidentified assailant on [Date, if available, otherwise use “recently”]. He remains in critical condition. As a top deputy in Russia’s military intelligence agency, Alexeyev would have played a central role in planning and overseeing operations related to the invasion of Ukraine.
The attack occurred just one day after Russian, Ukrainian, and United States negotiators concluded two days of talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at facilitating a negotiated end to the war. The Russian delegation at those discussions was led by Alexeyev’s direct superior, GRU Chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov. The timing of the shooting immediately follows these high-stakes diplomatic efforts.
Alexeyev is a sanctioned individual. The United Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on him for alleged Russian cyber interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Subsequently, the European Union and the United Kingdom sanctioned him following the GRU’s alleged involvement in the 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov publicly stated that Ukraine was responsible for the assassination attempt on Alexeyev. The Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the incident and that Russian intelligence services have opened an investigation. Ukrainian authorities have not issued an immediate comment on the allegation.
This incident fits a reported pattern of attacks on Russian senior officers since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukrainian military intelligence has previously claimed responsibility for the assassinations of several other high-ranking Russian military personnel, both in Moscow and other locations, treating them as legitimate targets in its defense against the invasion.
The shooting of such a senior GRU figure underscores the persistent reach of the conflict and the vulnerability of Russia’s military leadership. The event immediately raises questions about security within Moscow and its potential impact on the morale and operational planning of Russia’s military intelligence apparatus, even as tentative diplomatic channels remain active. Investigations by Russian authorities are ongoing, while the allegations from Moscow point directly at Kyiv as the perpetrator, further inflaming tensions in an already volatile geopolitical landscape.
