The GRU’s number two, Vladimir Alekseyev, was wounded by gunfire in Moscow. Key figure in the Wagner and Skripal dossiers, the Kremlin accuses Kiev of wanting to sabotage peace negotiations on Ukraine
The general Vladimir Alekseyevnumber two of the Russian military intelligence (GRU), was wounded by gunfire on the morning of February 6 in Moscow. According to reports from the Russian Investigative Committee, an unidentified gunman opened fire on the senior officer inside an apartment building located on Volokolamskoye Avenue, before managing to escape.
Alekseyev was immediately transported to hospital. His condition was not disclosed in detail, while the authorities have launched an investigation to reconstruct the dynamics and motive of the attack.
Who is Vladimir Alekseyev: a key figure of the GRU
In office since 2011, Alekseyev is one of the longest-serving and most influential leaders of the Russian General Staff. His career is closely linked to some of the most sensitive dossiers of recent years, which have projected Russian military intelligence at the center of tensions with the West.
Since 2016, the general has been subjected to US sanctions for his alleged involvement in cyberattacks linked to the US presidential elections. In 2019 the European Union also included him in the list of those sanctioned in relation to the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia in Salisbury, United Kingdom.
From the Wagner dossier to the negotiations on Ukraine
Alekseyev’s name returned to international prominence in June 2023, during the mutiny of the Wagner mercenary group. In that critical phase, together with the deputy defense minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurovthe general was responsible for managing contacts with Yevgeny Prigozhinin an attempt to defuse the so-called “march on Moscow”.
Alekseyev currently serves as deputy head of the department headed by the admiral Igor Kostyukovhead of the Russian delegation engaged in peace negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. A task that makes the attack particularly delicate from a political and diplomatic point of view.
The reaction of the Kremlin and the accusations in Kiev
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the security services are already working to identify those responsible for the attack.
The Foreign Minister’s comment was harsher Sergei Lavrovwhich directly linked the attack to ongoing peace talks. According to Lavrov, the episode demonstrates “the Zelensky regime’s determination to continuously provoke, with the aim of disrupting the negotiation process”.
