Vladimir Alekseyev, accused of overseeing UK nerve agent attack, targeted in assassination attempt

Lieutenant-General Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence arm, was shot at his Moscow apartment building on Saturday, and taken to hospital. Photo / Russian Defence Ministry

A senior Russian general accused of involvement in the Salisbury nerve agent attack has regained consciousness after being shot in Moscow, according to Russian state media.

Lieutenant-General Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence arm, the GRU, was shot several times on the landing of his Moscow apartment building on Saturday (local time), and taken to hospital.

The attack marked the latest apparent assassination attempt against a high-ranking military figure linked to the war in Ukraine.

Alekseyev, 64, was reportedly hit in the chest or abdomen before the attacker and an accomplice fled the scene.

Doctors said today that his condition had stabilised. Russia’s state news agency, Tass, quoted medical sources as saying that Alekseyev had been placed in a medically induced coma after surgery but had since regained consciousness.

“At this point, it can be cautiously stated that the threat to his life has passed,” the sources said.

Two suspects have reportedly been arrested and “will soon be interrogated”, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, citing a source close to the investigation.

The paper said a court hearing could take place tomorrow to determine whether the suspects will be held in pre-trial detention.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the shooting, though Russia moved quickly to blame Ukraine.

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said the shooting “confirmed the Zelenskyy regime’s focus on constant provocations aimed at disrupting the negotiation process”.

Ukraine has denied any involvement. Andrii Sybiha, Kyiv’s Foreign Minister, told Reuters: “We don’t know what happened with that particular general – maybe it was their own internal Russian in-fighting”.

Ukraine has previously acknowledged responsibility for some attacks targeting Russian military figures since the start of the war.

Alekseyev, who is Ukrainian-born, has played a significant role in Russia’s war, providing Russian President Vladimir Putin with intelligence before the full-scale invasion.

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment accused Alekseyev of overseeing preparations for missile and air strikes on Ukrainian territory, including against civilian targets, and of organising illegal referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine. Russia denies targeting civilians.

The general also served as one of Russia’s negotiators in the secret talks with a member of the Ukrainian parliament to end Russia’s 2022 siege of the strategic city of Mariupol.

Russian Telegram channels suggested yesterday that Alekseyev may also have enemies within Russia, claiming he lost the Kremlin’s trust after leading negotiations during the 2023 Wagner mercenary mutiny.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said during a briefing: “We wish the general survival and recovery”.

Alekseyev is under sanctions from Britain and the European Union over allegations that the GRU was responsible for the 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England.

British authorities accused him of overseeing the operation targeting Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, which resulted in the death of Dawn Sturgess, a British citizen.

The United States has also sanctioned the general for alleged cyber-interference in the 2016 presidential election, accusations Russia denies.

He previously received the title Hero of Russia for his role in Moscow’s military intervention in Syria.

Alekseyev’s superior is Igor Kostyukov, the GRU director, who led recent rounds of negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi.

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