Vladimir Alexeyev shooting: All we know about ‘attempted assassination’ of Putin’s senior general

Kyiv has denied accusations by Moscow that the shooting was an attempted assassination by Ukraine

The suspect of an attack on a top Russian general has been extradited to Moscow after being arrested in Dubai, according to Russia’s security service.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev was shot in an alleged assassination attempt on Friday, and is currently recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery.

Lyubomir Korba, a Russian citizen who Moscow says was working under Kyiv’s instructions, has now been detained in Dubai and is now in detention in Russia.

Ukraine denies all involvement in the attack, which comes following a spate of killings of senior military officers in Moscow last year that were linked by Russia to Ukraine.

Here is everything we know about the shooting of a senior military intelligence officer so far.

Vladimir Alexeyev was reportedly involved in the 2018 Salisbury poisonings (Russian Defence Ministry)

What happened?

On Friday, Alexeyev was shot several times by an unidentified person in a residential building of northwest Moscow, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.

A manhunt was instantly launched for the shooter and a criminal case was opened for attempted murder.

Moscow said the attacker fired three shots before fleeing to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the hours after the attack.

“Investigators conducted a thorough inspection at the scene, during which they discovered the murder weapon - a Makarov pistol with a silencer and three rounds of ammunition,” said Svetlana Petrenko a spokesperson for the Russian Investigative Committee (ICR). She added that forensic tests are being carried out on the gun.

On Saturday, Russian newspaper Kommersant, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that the two suspects would “soon be interrogated” before being charged.

The assassination attempt took place in a residential building in northwest Moscow (REUTERS)

Korba, a Ukrainian-born Russian citizen, has been extradited to Moscow after being arrested by authorities in Dubai, on suspicion of gravely injuring Alexeyev, Russian security officials said on Sunday.

On Sunday, Russian president Vladimir Putin thanked his UAE counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for helping with Korba’s detention during a phone call on Saturday evening, Russian agencies reported, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Who is Lt Gen Alexeyev?

The Ukrainian-born 64-year-old has served as the first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) since 2011. He was decorated with the Hero of Russia medal for his role in Moscow's military campaign in Syria.

Alexeyev was placed under sanctions by the EU and UK after they accused the GRU of being responsible for the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack.

He has also been accused of interfering in the 2020 US presidential election by instructing officials in Kyiv to accuse Donald Trump’s opposing candidate, Joe Biden, of money laundering via Ukrainian holding company Burisma.

He has also held close ties with paramilitary and mercenary groups, such as the Wagner group led by the late Yevgeney Prigozhin. Kommersant reports that he was one of the paramilitary group’s founders.

A police officer comes out of a residential building where the assassination attempt on Alexeyev took place in Moscow (Reuters)

What have Moscow and Kyiv said?

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov described the assassination attempt as an “act of terrorism” which he said showed Kyiv’s “determination to engage in constant provocations, aimed in turn at derailing the negotiation process”.

Moscow’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has now said that the attempted assassination of general Vladimir Alexeyev was ordered by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), according to Interfax news agency.

Kyiv has denied any involvement in Friday's attempted assassination.

Russia said that the suspected shooter, Korba, had been questioned after he was extradited from Dubai. A suspected accomplice, Viktor Vasin, has also been questioned. Moscow said a woman named as Zinaida Serebritskaya, who has left for Ukraine, was also thought to be involved, but did not elaborate on how.

Korba and Vasin, the FSB said, had "confessed their guilt", the FSB added. Korba was recruited by the SBU in August 2025 in Ternopil, western Ukraine, underwent training in Kyiv and was paid monthly in crypto-currency. For killing Alexeyev, Korba was promised $30,000 by the SBU, the FSB said.

It added that Polish intelligence was involved in his recruitment, but authorities in Warsaw are yet to comment.