Senior Russian general shot multiple times in an assassination attempt

A senior Russian military general has been shot multiple times in Moscow in an assassination attempt.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy head of the Defence Ministry’s Main Directorate of the General Staff was shot several times on Friday and has been rushed to hospital.

The general was accused of playing a major role in the Salisbury poisonings in the UK of the former double Russian agent Sergei Skripal for British intelligence.

An unknown gunman fired several shots at the Russian general whilst in a residential building in the northwest of Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.

A spokesperson said, “Investigative actions and operational search measures are being carried out to identify the person or persons involved in committing the aforementioned crime.”

Lt Gen Alekseyev was sent by Vladimir Putin to negotiate with Yevgeny Prigoshin, who was the leader of Wagner mercenary group, when he attempted a coup against the Russian dictator in 2023.

Since Putin started his full-scale war in Ukraine on 34 February 2022 quite a few high-ranking Russian military officials have been killed by Ukrainian assassins, although Kyiv has never accepted responsibility.

In December 2025 Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was assassinated in a car bomb in Moscow, Ukraine claimed responsibility for this.