A TOP Russian military intelligence leader was shot and wounded in Moscow today, following a series of assassinations of senior officers by Ukraine.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, first deputy head of Russia’s GRU intelligence agency since 2011, was hospitalised after being shot several times at a block of flats, Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said. 

She did not speculate who could be behind the attack. 

The shooting occurred a day after Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators concluded talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine. 

Moscow and Washington have agreed to reestablish high-level military dialogue, which was suspended in late 2021 ahead of the war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin was informed of Mr Alekseyev’s death, adding law enforcement must “step up protection of senior military officers.”

Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment on the attack, though Ukraine’s intelligence service the SBU has admitted to previous assassinations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the killing as an apparent “terrorist act” by Ukraine, intended to derail peace talks, but said the investigation was for police to carry out.

According to Russian newspaper Kommersant, the attacker posed as a delivery worker, shooting the general twice in a stairwell. 

Mr Alekseyev was wounded in the foot and arm, then shot in the chest while trying to wrestle the gun away before the assailant fled.

The 64-year-old general, born in Soviet-era Ukraine, rose to lead GRU operations in Syria and Ukraine, and was decorated with the Hero of Russia medal for his role in Moscow’s Syria campaign.

He has faced sanctions by the US, Britain and the European Union. 

In April 2025, Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed by a car bomb near Moscow. 

A Russian who pleaded guilty to the attack said he was paid by Ukrainian security. 

Days later, President Volodymyr Zelensky noted a report on the “liquidation” of top Russian figures, saying “justice inevitably comes.” 

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb in December 2024, an attack Ukraine’s security service claimed.