Senior Russian general shot in Moscow, manhunt under way
Investigators open attempted murder case after gunman targets top military intelligence official near his residence
A senior Russian military intelligence official was shot by an unidentified assailant in Moscow on Friday, prompting a major investigation and search for the attacker, Russia’s Investigative Committee said.
Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said several shots were fired at Lt. General Vladimir Alekseyev outside a residential building in northwestern Moscow, after which the suspect fled the scene.
Russian authorities have not said whether Alekseyev was wounded or offered any indication of a possible motive.
Alekseyev has served since 2011 as first deputy head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), one of the country’s most powerful and secretive security bodies.
A criminal case has been opened on charges of attempted murder and illegal trafficking of firearms, Petrenko said in a statement on Telegram.
“Investigators and forensic experts are currently working at the scene, reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing eyewitnesses,” she added, noting that efforts are underway to identify and locate those responsible.
This is not the first time a high-ranking officer has been targeted on Russian soil.
In December last year, head of Russia’s General Staff’s Operational Training Departmen Lt. General Fanil Sarvarov was killed after an explosive device detonated beneath his car in southern Moscow, according to the Investigative Committee.