Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, the first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, was hospitalized Friday after being shot multiple times inside a residential building in Moscow, Russian investigators said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said an unidentified assailant opened fire and fled the scene. Alexeyev was taken to a Moscow hospital. His condition has not been officially disclosed; however, a law enforcement source told the Russian state propaganda outlet RT that the general is in serious condition.
Telegram channels Mash and Baza, which are known for their ties to Russia’s security services, reported that the general was shot in the back.
A criminal case has been opened on charges of attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms.
Alexeyev has served as the GRU’s first deputy head since 2011. Investigations by Radio Free Europe have identified him as one of the senior officials overseeing Russia’s so-called “volunteer” formations fighting in Ukraine.
In June 2023, Alexeyev took part in talks with Yevgeny Prigozhin during the Wagner mutiny, alongside Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
He has also been sanctioned by Western governments. In December 2016, the United States government imposed sanctions on him over cyberattacks aimed at influencing the U.S. presidential election. In 2019, the European Union sanctioned him in connection with the Skripal poisonings in England.