This is Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy director of the Russian secret services. He had been sanctioned by the United States in 2016 for organizing “malicious cyber activities” during that year’s American presidential elections, which gave victory to Donald Trump.
A senior Russian military official, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev – 64 years old, deputy director of the Russian secret services – was urgently taken to hospital after being shot in Moscow, Russian state media reported.
The attack took place near a residential building on Volokolamskoye Road on the northwestern outskirts of the city. The general was hit several times and the attacker fled, Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. Alexeyev’s health status is unknown.
The incident is being investigated by authorities as an “attempted murder”. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, investigators are currently analyzing recordings from surveillance cameras at the scene of the crime and interrogating eyewitnesses.
Alexeyev has been deputy director of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense (GRU) since 2011. In practice, he is the ‘right-hand man’ of General Igor Kostyukov, head of Russian military intelligence, who led the Russian delegation in the recent negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in Abu Dhabi, held with the presence of American mediators, to resolve the conflict with Ukraine.
When the head of Russian mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, organized a mutiny in June 2023, Alexeyev was one of the top officers sent to negotiate with him.
Alexeyev is a senior figure in the Russian Armed Forces and was placed under European Union sanctions after the GRU was accused of being behind a nerve agent attack in Salisbury, United Kingdom, in 2018, which targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. They survived, but a British civilian who later encountered the poison died.
He was also sanctioned by the United States in 2016 for organizing “malicious cyber activities” during that year’s American presidential elections, which gave victory to Donald Trump.
He was sanctioned by Canada in August 2022 for being complicit in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Kiev Independent, the Kremlin awarded him the title of Hero of the Russian Federation the following year.
Since the beginning of the year, several senior officers of the Russian armed forces have been murdered, with Moscow blaming Kiev for the attacks.
