Russia has announced its intention to “interrogate” two individuals suspected of attempting to assassinate a senior military intelligence officer who was attacked in Moscow last Friday, as reported by a Russian newspaper.
The publication, Kommersant, revealed that authorities are set to question two suspects involved in the shooting of Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev. This information comes from a source with close ties to the investigation.
Following the interrogation, it is anticipated that charges will be filed against the suspects, according to a report by Reuters.
Lt. Gen. Alekseyev, who serves as the deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, sustained three gunshot wounds at his Moscow residence and was subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment.
In a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on June 23, 2023, Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev is seen addressing military personnel at an undisclosed location. (Image courtesy of the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
According to the Associated Press, Kommersant detailed that the assailant disguised themselves as a delivery worker and shot Alekseyev twice in the stairwell of his apartment building, hitting him in the foot and arm. As Alekseyev attempted to disarm the attacker, he was shot again in the chest before the assailant managed to escape.
Kommersant reported that Alekseyev underwent successful surgery and regained consciousness Saturday but remained under medical supervision.
Russian news outlet TASS reported the surgery was successful and that Alekseyev’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Russian investigators and security personnel exit an apartment building in Moscow Feb. 6, 2026, after Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, a top Russian military intelligence official, was shot in an apparent assassination attempt. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
The outlet reported that the Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation on charges of attempted murder and illicit trafficking in firearms.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, alleging — without providing evidence — that it was intended to sabotage peace talks. Ukraine denied any involvement.
Alekseyev, 64, has been under U.S. sanctions over alleged Russian cyber interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The European Union also sanctioned him over the 2018 poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England.
Police officers walk past a high-rise residential building, site of an assassination attempt on Russian Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev in Moscow Feb. 6, 2026. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
The assassination attempt came as President Donald Trump’s administration has been seeking to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The warring nations agreed to a prisoner swap this week, according to readouts posted on X by U.S. special presidential envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff and Ukraine’s national security and defense council Minister Rustem Umerov.
