Attempted assassination of Russian Lieutenant General Alexeyev reported in Moscow

In Moscow, an unknown assailant carried out an attempted assassination of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, First Deputy Head of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). Alexeyev has been taken to hospital.

Source: Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlets RIA Novosti and TASS

Details: According to Russian media reports, the attack took place in a residential building on Volokolamsk Highway in north-west Moscow.

The attacker reportedly shot Alexeyev several times in the back before fleeing the scene.

Russia's Investigative Committee confirmed that a criminal case has been opened over the attempted assassination and that the suspect is being sought. No information has been released about the condition of the injured official.

For reference: Alexeyev, who holds the rank of lieutenant general, has been First Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate since 2011.

Vladimir Alexeyev was born on 24 April 1961 in the village of Holodky, Khmilnyk district, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. He graduated in 1984 from the Vasily Margelov Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School in Russia. Over the years, he served as head of intelligence directorates in the Moscow and Far Eastern military districts, later headed the 14th Directorate of the GRU and in 2011 became First Deputy Head of the GRU.

According to Ukrainian authorities and international investigative reports, Alexeyev was responsible for intelligence support of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the preparation of targeting data for missile and bomb strikes on Ukrainian territory, particularly civilian facilities, as well as activities related to organising sham referendums in the temporarily occupied territories. Open sources have also cited his role in attempts to establish quasi-governmental structures in occupied areas, particularly in Kherson Oblast.

He was also responsible for intelligence support for combat operations by a group of Russian troops in Syria, operations that led to the mass deaths of local civilians and were classified by the international community as a war crime.

Alekseyev also featured in US investigative materials on Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election, including in the context of cyberattacks on structures linked to the Democratic Party and influencing operations.In 2017, according to Russian state media, Alexeyev was awarded the title Hero of Russia by a classified presidential decree.

Background:

• In June 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) said it had uncovered an agent network for Russia's Main Directorate of the General Staff that was meant to help Russia seize Ukraine. The investigation established that the network included Ukrainian MP Andrii Derkach, who allegedly oversaw the creation of a number of private security companies in various oblasts with the aim of using them to rapidly take control of the country.
• Derkach's former aide Ihor Kolesnikov said Derkach was recruited in 2016. He said the GRU chief Ihor Kostyukov and his first deputy Vladimir Alekseyev personally worked with the MP.
• In June 2023, Alekseyev and Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov took part in talks with Yevgeny Prigozhin, a founder of the Wagner private military company, during the mercenaries' mutiny.
• Ihor Kostyukov, Alekseyev's direct superior, is now leading the Russian delegation in talks with the US and Ukraine. The latest round of those talks took place in Abu Dhabi on 5 February.

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