Senior Russian General Wounded In Moscow Shooting

A senior figure in Russia’s military establishment has been seriously wounded after being shot multiple times in Moscow, marking the latest attack on a high-ranking defence official since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev was rushed to hospital following the shooting, which took place inside a residential building in the north-western part of the capital. Authorities have not yet disclosed his medical condition.

Alexeyev is a senior official within the Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU) and has been under European Union sanctions since 2018, when the intelligence agency was accused of involvement in the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, UK.

Investigation Underway

Confirming the incident, Svetlana Petrenko of Russia’s Investigative Committee said: “The victim has been hospitalised at one of the city’s hospitals.” She added that a criminal investigation has been opened on charges of attempted murder.

The shooting occurred on Friday morning in a residential complex along Volokolamsk Highway. As of now, authorities have not identified the attacker or established a motive.

Key Role in the Ukraine War

Lt Gen Alexeyev has been a prominent figure during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, he took part in negotiations with Ukrainian officials during the siege of Mariupol. He was also dispatched in June 2023 to hold talks with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late Wagner Group leader, during the short-lived but violent mutiny against the Kremlin.

Pattern of Targeted Attacks

Alexeyev is the latest in a series of senior Russian military officials to be targeted. Ukraine has previously acknowledged involvement in some attacks on Russian military figures, though no claim has been made in this case.

Russian intelligence recently said it foiled an attempted attack on a soldier in St Petersburg last month. Earlier this year, an Uzbek national was sentenced to prison over the 2024 killing of General Igor Kirillov, who died in an explosion outside his Moscow apartment. Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency said it was responsible for that attack.

Kirillov had headed Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection troops.

In another incident, Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, a senior GRU officer overseeing operational training, was killed in December 2025 when a bomb detonated beneath his car in Moscow, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.