Who Was Vladimir Alexeyev? Russian Intelligence Veteran Shot Near Moscow Residence

Last Updated:February 06, 2026, 22:31 IST

Alexeyev had played a key role in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria and was awarded the Hero of Russia medal in June 2023.

Russian military official Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev who was hospitalised after being shot multiple times by an unidentified attacker at his apartment building in Moscow served as the first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, known as the GRU, since 2011.

The 64-year-old official was number two in the hierarchy of Russia’s GRU military intelligence and the latest military official to have been targeted since the Ukraine war.

According to Associated Press, the attacker was waiting outside his apartment when Alexeyev went to work. He had sustained gunshot wounds to an arm, a leg and his chest during a struggle.

Alexeyev had played a key role in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria and was awarded the Hero of Russia medal in June 2023.

His superior, military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov, led the Russian delegation in the Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiations held over two days in Abu Dhabi. Given his role, Alexeyev would have been closely involved in directing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Alexeyev was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union. He gradually rose through the ranks to lead operations of Russian military intelligence in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere.

The official was sanctioned by the United States over Russia’s cyber interference in the 2016 US presidential election, and later by the European Union for his alleged role in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England.

He was responsible for relations between the Defence Ministry and the Wagner mercenary group. The group is led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who fought in some of the fiercest battles in the early stages of the war in Ukraine.

Kyiv Behind Shooting: Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being responsible for the assassination attempt. Without presenting evidence, he said Kyiv was behind the “terrorist act" and was seeking to “disrupt the negotiation process" aimed at ending the four-year war.

President Vladimir Putin was informed about the attack, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who added that law enforcement agencies need to step up protection of senior military officers during the conflict in Ukraine.

This comes amid a series of assassinations of military officials and public figures in Russia. Moscow has blamed Kyiv for these incedents with Ukraine claiming responsibility for some of them, Associated Press reported.

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