Gen.-Lt. Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy chief of Russian military intelligence, the GRU, was shot multiple times and seriously wounded outside his residence in Moscow this morning, Feb. 6, said Russia’s Investigative Committee in a statement, reported RT. Officials stated that the shooter had fled the scene and is being sought by police. Investigators and forensic teams are working at the scene.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov immediately blamed the Kiev regime in Ukraine. Lavrov described the incident as a “terrorist act” that “once again confirmed the focus of the Zelenskyy regime on constant provocations aimed, in turn, at disrupting the negotiation process.”
Ukrainian authorities also appear determined to “do anything” to convince their Western sponsors to derail any attempts to achieve a fair settlement of the conflict, he added. Notably, the suspected assassination attempt comes shortly after Russia, the U.S., and Ukraine held a second round of trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4 and 5. GRU chief Igor Kostyukov, to whom Alexeyev is deputy, has been leading the Russian delegation to those talks.
Alexeyev, 64, is one of Russia’s most senior military intelligence officials, having served as first deputy head of the GRU since 2011—a role in which he oversaw anti-terrorist operations in Syria. In 2017, he was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation, one of the country’s highest distinctions.
According to BBC, Alexeyev has played a significant role during the war in Ukraine, taking part in talks with Ukraine during the Russian siege of the city of Mariupol in 2022. He was placed under European Union and U.K. sanctions after the GRU was accused of being behind the alleged 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury, U.K.. He was also involved in negotiations with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, who led a brief mutiny against Moscow in 2023.
