A senior Russian military intelligence official is in critical condition after being shot several times in what authorities believe was an assassination attempt near his residence in Moscow.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was attacked while walking through the stairwell of his apartment complex on Volokolamsk Highway early Friday morning, February 6, according to Russian officials.
Investigators say the gunman had been waiting for Alekseyev to leave his apartment on the 24th floor at around 7am. As the general descended the stairwell, the attacker opened fire, shooting him multiple times in the back before fleeing the scene. The suspect remains at large.
Russian Telegram channel Base reported that Alekseyev had “lost a significant amount of blood” by the time paramedics arrived. Witnesses said emergency responders performed CPR on the high-ranking officer for about 15 minutes.
Neighbours described a chaotic scene following the shooting.
“The entire floor is covered in blood, even the lift lobby,” one resident was quoted as saying.
Alekseyev was rushed to hospital and remains in critical condition.
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case for attempted murder and illegal trafficking of firearms. Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko confirmed that the victim has been hospitalised at one of Moscow’s city hospitals.
Alekseyev, 64, serves as deputy chief of the main directorate of the general staff at the Russian Ministry of Defence and is also deputy head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency. He was placed under European sanctions after the GRU was accused of involvement in the 2018 Salisbury nerve-agent attack in the United Kingdom.
He is known to have provided intelligence to the Kremlin ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and played a key role as a negotiator during the 2023 mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private military company.
The shooting came just a day after the head of the GRU, Igor Kostyukov, led a Russian delegation in talks involving Ukraine and the United States.
The incident adds to a growing list of attacks targeting senior Russian military figures. In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed when an explosive device hidden in a scooter detonated. The following year, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik died after a car bomb exploded near his home in Moscow.
Some of these attacks have been claimed by Ukrainian sources, as the shadow war between Russia and Ukraine increasingly extends beyond the battlefield