Deputy GRU chief Vladimir Alekseyev was shot and hospitalized in a Moscow apartment building; investigators say the attacker fled the scene. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of orchestrating what it called a "terrorist act," though Kyiv had not commented. Alekseyev is a sanctioned intelligence figure linked by Western governments to alleged cyber operations and the 2018 Skripal poisoning. The shooting occurs amid U.S.-mediated talks and follows a string of targeted killings of senior Russian officers since 2022.
Senior GRU Deputy Vladimir Alekseyev Shot In Moscow; Kremlin Blames Ukraine
Investigators leave a high-rise residential building, the scene of an assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev in Moscow on Feb. 6, 2026. / Credit: Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images
Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy chief of Russia's military intelligence (GRU), was shot inside an apartment building in northwestern Moscow on Friday and hospitalized, Russian authorities said. Investigators described the attacker as an "unidentified individual" who fled the scene; Alekseyev was reported to have been struck by multiple shots.
The Kremlin immediately framed the incident as an assassination attempt and accused Ukraine of orchestrating the attack. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia's special services were "doing their job" and that President Vladimir Putin had been kept informed.
Russia's Investigative Committee said searches and operational measures were under way to identify and locate those responsible. AFP reporters at the scene saw a forensic truck outside the apartment block and police cordons restricting access.
In this image made from video and provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on June 23, 2023, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev speaks to servicemen in an undisclosed location. / Credit: AP(AP)
Sensitive Figure With International Sanctions
Alekseyev, a career military officer who has served as the GRU's first deputy chief since 2011, has been sanctioned by Western governments for alleged cyber operations and for what the West says was his role in the 2018 nerve-agent poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the U.K. The Skripal attack left one member of the British public dead and sharply strained ties between London and Moscow.
He also led GRU intelligence efforts in Syria and was dispatched during the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's 2023 short-lived mutiny, where he was filmed meeting with Prigozhin in an attempt to defuse the crisis. Prigozhin later died months after the rebellion when his plane exploded in mid-air.
Context: Tensions And Targeted Killings
The shooting comes as U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine yielded a 314-person prisoner exchange in Abu Dhabi, an event Moscow's foreign minister said may have prompted attempts to "disrupt the negotiation process." Russian officials labeled the shooting a "terrorist act."
Moscow has previously blamed Kyiv for a series of targeted killings and plots inside Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022; Ukraine has acknowledged responsibility for some operations and denied others. Recent high-profile cases cited by Russian authorities include the December car bombing that killed Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, April's explosive device that killed Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, and a December 2024 bomb attack that killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov and his assistant.
Note: At the time of reporting, Russian authorities had not provided a detailed update on Alekseyev's medical condition, and Kyiv had not commented on the accusations.
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