The latest suspect in the failed assassination of a top Russian spy chief is a former military officer who allegedly tracked the GRU general alongside his own father.
Russia’s Federal Security Service has arrested a third suspect in connection with a recent assassination attempt on GRU Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, the agency announced on Tuesday.
The failed hit on Alexeyev, the first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, took place in Moscow on February 6. Alexeyev was hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds but survived the attack. According to state media reports, the lieutenant general regained consciousness after undergoing surgery, and his condition “remains stable.”
On February 8, Russian authorities announced the arrests of two suspects allegedly involved in the shooting. The FSB said that the men, Lyubomir Korba and Viktor Vasin, had confessed to the attempt on Alexeyev’s life. Another suspect, Zinaida Serebritskaya, was later charged in absentia. While the FSB initially reported that Serebritskaya had fled Russia for Ukraine, state media later reported that she had in fact traveled to Turkey. Russian authorities have issued an international warrant for her arrest.
You’re currently reading Meduza, the world’s largest independent Russian news outlet. Every day, we bring you essential coverage from Russia and beyond. Explore our reporting here and follow us wherever you get your news.
The newly arrested suspect is Viktor Vasin’s son, 44-year-old Russian citizen Pavel Vasin. According to the FSB, he confessed to acting as an accomplice.
The agency claims that Vasin Jr. assisted the alleged perpetrators with preparations for the assassination attempt. His alleged assistance included providing them with a car, purchasing a dashcam and trackers used to surveil Russian military personnel, and helping to gather information about them online. The FSB also said Vasin Jr. told investigators his father and Korba had been surveilling two other high-ranking Defense Ministry officials “in the interests of the Ukrainian intelligence services.”
A confession video circulated by the FSB shows Pavel Vasin explaining that Korba recruited him “for the SBU” (Ukraine’s Security Service) in September 2025. He also says that he carried out tasks on the SBU’s behalf, including preparations “for the assassination attempt on General Alexeyev.”
According to the independent outlet iStories, Pavel Vasin is a former career soldier who served in the Russian Armed Forces. He graduated from Moscow’s Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces in 2003. A copy of his resume, reviewed by iStories and the investigative outlet Agentstvo, states that he completed five years of contract army service, specializing in communications and participating in foreign deployments.
Vasin Jr. studied law at Moscow State University for the Humanities and then worked in the private sector. In September 2022, he accepted a position as an engineer-observer at the Russian aerospace firm Astronomical Scientific Center (ANC).
ANC has received grants from Russia’s federal space agency, Roscosmos.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned ANC in 2024, in response to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny. According to the Treasury, ANC develops and operates automated optoelectronic systems. Vasin left the company in March 2023.
According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Vasin followed several nationalist Telegram channels, including ones associated with the far-right group Russkaya Obshchina (“Russian Community”). What motivated his alleged involvement in the failed hit on Alexeyev remains unclear.