A senior Russian military official was shot inside an apartment building in Moscow on Friday morning and has been rushed to hospital, authorities confirmed, raising fresh concerns over the safety of top military figures in Russia.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, an unidentified person opened fire on General Vladimir Alekseyev, a high-ranking officer with a senior role in Russia’s general staff, before fleeing the scene. Officials said the general survived the attack and is currently receiving medical treatment, though no details about his condition have been made public.
So far, investigators have not released any information about the suspect or possible motives behind the shooting. Authorities stated that active investigative and search operations are underway to identify those responsible.
This incident comes amid a series of violent attacks targeting high-ranking Russian military officials since Moscow launched its full-scale military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian authorities have previously claimed responsibility for some of these attacks, although no such claim has been made in this case.
General Alekseyev is a long-serving military officer and currently serves as the first deputy chief of Russia’s general staff, according to publicly available records. He previously oversaw intelligence operations during Russia’s military involvement in Syria in support of former leader Bashar al-Assad. In 2023, he was also sent to negotiate with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin during the brief but dramatic mutiny against Russia’s military leadership.
The shooting follows another high-profile case last month, when a Russian court sentenced an Uzbek national to life in prison for the 2024 killing of General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s radiological, chemical, and biological defence forces. Kirillov was killed in Moscow when an explosive device hidden in a scooter detonated outside his apartment building—an attack that Kyiv later said it had orchestrated.
As investigations continue, the latest attack underscores growing instability and rising security risks surrounding Russia’s military leadership during an ongoing and deeply tense conflict.
