Russia claims Ukraine orchestrated an attempt to assassinate a top military general, according to allegations released by Russia’s Investigative Committee following a shooting in Moscow that left a senior intelligence officer wounded.
Russian investigators say Ukrainian intelligence services were behind the attack on Friday targeting Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, a high-ranking official in Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. Authorities claim the suspected gunman fled Moscow shortly after the shooting and was later arrested in Dubai, with assistance from Emirati officials, before being returned to Russia.
The Investigative Committee said two additional suspects were involved. One alleged accomplice has been detained, while another is believed to have escaped to Ukraine. The main suspect, described as a man in his mid-60s originally from Ukraine’s Ternopil region, reportedly entered Russia in December under what investigators say were instructions from Kyiv’s intelligence services.
The shooting occurred early Friday morning inside a residential building along Moscow’s Volokolamskoye Highway. Investigators allege the attacker fired several shots at Alekseyev before fleeing the scene. A Makarov pistol equipped with a silencer was later recovered nearby.
Russian state media reported that Alekseyev underwent surgery and later regained consciousness. Medical sources cited by TASS said doctors were cautiously optimistic and believed his life was not in immediate danger.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that the suspect boarded a flight from Moscow to Dubai soon after the attack. The Kremlin later confirmed that President Vladimir Putin personally thanked UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for helping secure the suspect’s arrest.
Ukraine has firmly denied the accusations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Reuters that Kyiv had no involvement in the attack, rejecting Moscow’s claims outright.
Alekseyev, 64, serves as the first deputy head of the GRU and is a well-known figure within Russia’s security establishment. In 2023, he was sent to negotiate with Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin during the mercenary group’s brief mutiny. At the time, Alekseyev publicly condemned Prigozhin’s actions, calling them a betrayal of the country and President Putin.
Internationally, Alekseyev has long been a controversial figure. The United States sanctioned him in 2016 over allegations of cyber activities aimed at undermining American democratic processes. The European Union followed with sanctions in 2019, linking him to the Salisbury nerve agent attack in the United Kingdom, which British authorities said involved GRU operatives using the banned nerve agent Novichok.
The attack on Alekseyev fits a broader pattern of violence targeting senior Russian military and security officials. In December, another Russian general was killed in a car bombing in Moscow, an incident authorities also blamed on Ukraine. That blast killed Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who oversaw operational training for Russia’s armed forces and had previously been involved in military operations in Syria.
Other high-profile cases include the killing of Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a senior officer in Russia’s General Staff, who died in a car bomb attack near Moscow last year.
As investigations continue, the latest shooting adds to rising tensions between Moscow and Kyiv, with Russia once again accusing Ukraine of taking the conflict deep into its own capital, claims that Ukrainian officials continue to deny.
