A senior Russian military intelligence officer was critically injured after being shot multiple times outside his apartment building in Moscow on Friday. Russian authorities investigating the matter have chalked it up as a suspected assassination attempt, forming the latest incident in the larger string of coordinated attacks on top Russian military officers going on since the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, First Deputy Head of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU, was targeted by an unidentified gunman at a residential complex on Volokolamsk Highway in northwest Moscow. Investigators said several shots were fired at Alekseyev before the attacker fled the scene.
Alekseyev sustained multiple gunshot wounds, including to the back, and was rushed to a city hospital in critical condition, officials said.
Alekseyev led negotiations during mutiny by Wagner mercenary group
Alekseyev is a career military officer and one of the most influential figures within the GRU. He previously oversaw intelligence operations during Russia’s military intervention in Syria and played a key role in liaising with the Wagner mercenary group.
In 2023, he was sent to negotiate with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin during the group’s brief mutiny against Russia’s military leadership. The shooting is the latest in a series of attacks on senior Russian military officials since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian authorities have claimed responsibility for some previous killings, including the 2024 bomb attack in Moscow that killed General Igor Kirillov, a claim Russia has strongly denied.
Investigative Committee launches probe
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal investigation into attempted murder.
“An unidentified individual fired several shots at the victim and escaped,” spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said, adding that search operations were underway to identify those involved.
Alekseyev is presently placed in the intensive care ward of a city hospital in Moscow. The Russian military has not issued a public statement on the matter yet.