A Russian man suspected of shooting and wounding senior military intelligence officer Vladimir Alekseyev in Moscow has been arrested in Dubai, the Russian FSB security service said on Sunday.
The man, believed to be in his 60s, was “arrested and handed over to Russia” after fleeing to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Russian media reported that a suspected accomplice was arrested in Moscow, while another remains at large in Ukraine, according to the FSB.
Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, was shot in a Moscow apartment last Friday and admitted to hospital. He is under Western sanctions for his alleged role in cyberattacks and for organising the 2018 nerve agent attack on Russian defector Sergei Skripal in Britain.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the shooting. Kyiv, which has claimed responsibility for the killing of several high-ranking Russian military figures since the start of the war, has not commented on this incident.
The attack comes amid a series of assassinations targeting senior Russian officials both inside Russia and in Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had acknowledged the risks faced by military leaders during wartime but said their protection is the responsibility of the security services, not the Kremlin. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being kept informed and hopes Alekseyev will recover.
Alekseyev, born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, has been the first deputy chief of the GRU since 2011. He has previously led intelligence operations in Syria, participated in negotiations with the Wagner Group during its 2023 mutiny, and has been sanctioned by the West for his alleged role in cyberattacks and the Skripal poisoning.
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