Russian military officer Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was hospitalized after being shot several times by an unidentified assailant in his apartment building in Moscow.
Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was placed under US sanctions for Russian cyber interference in the 2016 US presidential election. (Reuters)Alekseyev’s attacker was waiting outside his apartment while the officer went to work. He was shot in an arm, a leg and his chest during the struggle, the Associated Press reported.
Awarded Hero of Russia MedalThe 64-year-old official has served as first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, known as the GRU, since 2011. He was number two in the hierarchy of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and was the latest military officer to be targeted since the Ukraine war.
The officer played a key role in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria and was awarded the Hero of Russia medal in June 2023.
His boss, military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov, led the Russian delegation during two days of talks in Abu Dhabi between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials. Alekseyev’s position meant he was closely involved in the prosecution of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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Alekseyev, who was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, gradually rose through the ranks to direct Russian military intelligence operations in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere.
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Approved by the US and EUThe official was placed under US sanctions for Russian cyber interference in the 2016 US presidential election. He was also sanctioned by the European Union for poisoning former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in 2018.
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The Russian official was responsible for relations between the Ministry of Defense and Wagner’s mercenary group. The group is led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who fought in some of the deadliest battles in the early stages of the war in Ukraine.
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Russia says Kiev is behind Moscow’s shootingRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Ukraine for the assassination attempt. Without providing evidence, Lavrov said Ukraine was behind “terrorist activities”, accusing Kiev of trying to “disrupt the negotiation process” to end the four-year war.
President Vladimir Putin was informed of the attack, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who added that law enforcement agencies should step up protection of senior military officials during the conflict in Ukraine.
The news comes amid a series of assassinations of military officials and public figures in Russia. Moscow has blamed Kiev for the incidents and Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of them, the Associated Press reported.
