A suspected a$sassin shot a Russian general several times near his home in Moscow, according to officials.
Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev was walking through the stairwell of his apartment complex on Volokolamsk Highway when he was shot.
The gunman had been waiting for Alekseyev to leave his home on the 24th floor at around 7am on Friday, Feb. 6.
After shooting the head of Russia’s intelligence agency in the back, the assailant fled the scene and remains on the loose.
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Alekseyev had “lost a significant amount of blood” by the time paramedics arrived, according to the Russian Telegram account Base.
The emergency team performed CPR on the high-ranking general for 15 minutes, witnesses said.
Neighbours said they heard gunshots and cries for help, with one saying: “The entire floor is covered in blood, even the lift lobby.
Alekseyev remains in critical condition.
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation for attempted murd£r and illegal circulation of firearms.
Svetlana Petrenko, of the investigative agency, said: “The victim has been hospitalised at one of the city’s hospitals.”
Alekseyev, 64, is the deputy chief of the main directorate of the general staff at the Russian Ministry of Defence.
He’s also the deputy head of GRU and was placed under European sanctions after the military intelligence service was accused of being behind the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack.
Alexeyev provided the Kremlin with intelligence for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He was also a key negotiator when Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner, staged a mutiny in 2023.
The shooting happened the morning after the head of the GRU, Igor Kostyukov, led the Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine and the US.
It also follows a string of attacks and a$sassinations against Russia’s top military officers, some of which Kyiv has claimed.
Lt Gen Igor Kirillo was k!lled in December 2024 when an explosive planted in a scooter detonated. Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik of the Russian Army’s General Staff di£d after a car parked near his home in Moscow exploded the following year.