MOSCOW: A top Russian military intelligence official was shot in his Moscow apartment building and rushed to hospital on Friday, investigators said, the latest in a series of assassination attempts Russia has blamed on Ukraine.

An unidentified gunman fired several shots at Lt Gen Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence arm, before fleeing the scene. Alexeyev’s position meant he would have been closely involved in prosecuting Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Alexeyev, 64, whose work has been recognised by President Vladimir Putin with a Hero of Russia award, was reported to be in a serious condition in hospital.

Born in Ukraine when it was still part of the Soviet Union, Alexeyev was placed under US sanctions over Russian cyber interference in the 2016 presidential election. The European Union imposed sanctions on him over the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in 2018.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said was “designed to sabotage” peace talks.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Since the start of the war in 2022, Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed responsibility for assassinating several senior Russian officers, some of whom have appeared on a public list of Ukraine’s enemies.

The Kommersant daily, citing law enforcement sources, said Alexeyev’s attacker had been waiting when he left his apartment to go to work and that Alexeyev had sustained gunshot wounds to an arm, a leg and his chest during a struggle.

The Kremlin said it hoped Alexeyev would survive and recover. Putin was briefed on the shooting and Russia’s intelligence services are investigating, it said.

“It is clear that military commanders and high-level specialists are at risk during wartime,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“But it is not the Kremlin that should be deciding how to ensure their safety. This is a matter for the special services.”

Security questions

Some pro-Kremlin Russian journalists, war bloggers and members of the public asked why such important figures were not better protected.

“How can this happen? Or is it only in films that we see that such people should have security guards? This is not the first time this has happened,” a woman called Ludmila wrote beneath a state media article on the shooting.

A neighbour of Alexeyev, who gave her name as Alessandra, said CCTV in the apartment building had been working well after unconfirmed reports that the gunman had gained access by posing as a food delivery courier.

Alexeyev’s boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, has been leading Russia’s delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on security-related aspects of a potential peace deal.

The latest round of talks concluded on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2026