Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev remains in critical condition after gunman fired multiple shots near his Moscow apartment, with Russia blaming Ukraine amid ongoing peace talks
MOSCOW — A high-profile Russian general and military intelligence official has been shot several times by an unidentified gunman in Moscow. Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was immediately taken to hospital after the attack on Friday, 6 February 2026. Alekseev was shot three times in the back outside his apartment in northwest Moscow and remains in a critical condition in intensive care.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said “an unidentified individual fired several shots” at Alekseyev before fleeing the scene. The senior Russian military intelligence official, regarded as one of the most influential figures within the GRU, now faces an uncertain recovery as Moscow points fingers at Kyiv without presenting evidence.
Details of the Attack
The attacker waited on the 25th floor stairwell of a residential building on Volokolamsk Highway and fired as Alekseyev emerged from his apartment on the floor below. Bullets struck vital organs and the general was taken to hospital by ambulance after neighbours heard the shots and called for help.
The Kommersant daily, quoting law enforcement sources, said Alekseyev’s attacker had been waiting when he left his flat to go to work and that the general had sustained gunshot wounds to an arm, a leg and his chest during a struggle. The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the grounds of an “attempted murder”.
Who Is Vladimir Alekseev?
Alekseyev is the first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU). He has been the GRU number two since 2011. Alekseyev, 64, played a prominent role during the mutiny by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in the summer of 2023.
The Kremlin awarded Alekseyev the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 2017. Born in the village of Holodky in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region, he graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School and rose through Russia’s military intelligence ranks.
He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for being the mastermind of “malicious cyber activities” during the US presidential election the same year. He was also sanctioned by the E.U. in 2019 in connection with the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England with the nerve agent Novichok.
Russia’s Immediate Response
There was an attempt on the life of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev in Moscow. He was taken to hospital, and a criminal case has been opened, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said. Putin has been briefed on the shooting, and Russia’s intelligence services are investigating. It is clear that military commanders and high-level specialists are at risk during wartime, Peskov added.
Moscow blamed Ukraine for the attack just hours after the attempted assassination, as the investigation was just opening. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the assassination attempt demonstrates Ukraine’s desire to undermine the peace process.
Timing Raises Questions Over Peace Negotiations
The assassination attempt comes at a particularly sensitive moment. Alekseev is the deputy to GRU chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov, who is currently leading the Russian delegation at trilateral negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine. The Ukrainian publication Strana.ua suggested the attack could affect the course of those peace negotiations.
Security analysts suggest that the timing appears designed to maximise political impact rather than purely military objectives. Lavrov accused Kyiv, without providing any evidence, of being behind the assassination attempt. There has been no comment from Ukraine on the shooting.
Pattern of Targeted Killings
The shooting is the fourth attack on senior Russian military figures in Moscow and the Moscow region in just over a year. Al Jazeera’s reporting from Moscow noted there has been a surge of assassinations against Russian high-ranking military officials since the start of the war in Ukraine. “Almost in all those cases, the Ukrainian intelligence services were said to be behind all these assassinations or assassination attempts.”
Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the General Staff’s main operations directorate, died in a car explosion in the Moscow suburb of Balashikha on April 25, 2025. Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the General Staff’s operational training directorate, was killed by a car bomb in Moscow’s Orekhovo-Borisovo district on December 22, 2025.
And in 2024, the officer in charge of Russia’s nuclear and chemical weapons protection forces was killed when an electric scooter exploded on the sidewalk outside his Moscow apartment building.
Ukraine’s Listed War Criminal
Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) listed Alekseev as a Russian war criminal for his involvement in Moscow’s all-out war. “He is responsible for providing intelligence support for Russian aggression against Ukraine, organising the preparation of source data for missile and air strikes on Ukrainian territory, including civilian targets,” the Ukrainian intelligence agency said.
The HUR also accuses Alekseev of directing intelligence support for Russian military operations in Syria that resulted in mass civilian deaths.
Looking Forward
The attempted assassination of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev represents one of the most significant security breaches in Moscow since the conflict began. Given the ongoing hostilities, analysts suggest it is logical to expect the continuation and likely expansion of terrorist acts and individual assassinations, not only in Moscow but also in Russian regions.
Whether the GRU deputy chief survives may influence both domestic Russian sentiment and the trajectory of peace negotiations. The incident underscores the increasingly personal nature of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where senior military figures face direct targeting far from any conventional front line.
