Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Top Russian GRU General and Cyber Ops Chief Shot in Moscow Attack
Euronews ^ | 06/02/2026 | Sasha Vakulina

Posted on 02/06/2026 9:56:59 PM PST by nickcarraway

Vladimir Alekseyev has been under the EU sanctions for orchestrating the novichok poisoning attack in Salisbury in 2018 that targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

A high-profile Russian general and military intelligence official has been shot several times by an unidentified gunman in Moscow on Friday.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was immediately taken to hospital after the attack in a residential building on the north-western outskirts of the capital. According to the reports, the assailant fled the scene.

Alekseyev's condition is unknown at this time, but he is said to have survived the shooting, according to Russian media reports.

Russian media said that "the killer was waiting for the Lieutenant General of the Russian Defence Ministry near a residential building”.

The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the grounds of an “attempted murder”.

The Kremlin spokesperson confirmed that the criminal investigation is ongoing.

"There was an attempt on the life of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev in Moscow. He was taken to hospital, and a criminal case has been opened," Dmitri Peskov said.

Meanwhile, Moscow blamed Ukraine for the attack just hours after the attempted assassination, as the investigation was just opening.

Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the assassination attempt on Vladimir Alekseev “demonstrates Ukraine's desire to undermine the peace process”. He did not elaborate on the investigation's first revelations and even preliminary conclusions.

Who is Vladimir Alekseyev? Alekseyev is the first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU). He has been the GRU number two since 2011.

He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for being the mastermind of “malicious cyber activities” during the US presidential election the same year.

Alekseev has also been accused by the UK and EU of orchestrating the novichok chemical weapon attack in Salisbury in 2018 that targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The two survived, but a British national who later found novichok — hidden in a perfume bottle — died from the consequences of exposure to the nerve agent.

Ukraine-born, Alekseev is also under sanctions in Canada for being complicit in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) listed Alekseev as a Russian war criminal for his involvement in Moscow’s all-out war.

"He is responsible for providing intelligence support for Russian aggression against Ukraine, organising the preparation of source data for missile and air strikes on Ukrainian territory, including civilian targets, and legalising Russia's presence in the occupied territories by organising so-called referendums (creation of the so-called 'Kherson People's Republic'),” Ukrainian intelligence agency said.

The HUR also accuses Alekseev of directing intelligence support for Russian military operations in Syria that resulted in mass civilian deaths.

In Russia, Alekseev also played an important role in the Wagner mercenary group rebellion in 2023, where he was the assigned negotiator in talks with the group's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

At the time, Alekseev recorded a video appeal calling for Wagner mercenaries to stand down, which the group did before reaching Moscow, defusing the crisis that resulted in Prigozhin's death in an aeroplane crash caused by an explosion on board.

According to multiple reports, Alekseev was a key architect of the Wagner mercenary group and Redut private military company.

The Wagner rebellion and its consequent collapse paved the way for Redut, a GRU-backed private military company, to emerge as a key Kremlin PMC under the control of Russian military intelligence.

Same as Wagner, Redut reportedly operated in Syria and then largely replaced Wagner in Russia’s war against Ukraine after Prigozhin’s failed rebellion.

The Kremlin awarded Alekseev the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 2017.

Negotiations over Mariupol defenders Commander of the 1st Azov Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine said that Alekseyev was the senior Russian representative at the negotiations in Mariupol in May 2022 during the withdrawal of the Ukrainian garrison from Azovstal steel plant.

“Alekseyev promised that the Russians would comply with the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war and guaranteed normal conditions of detention for our prisoners”, Denys Prokopenko wrote, adding that Alekseyev even signed the relevant document in Mariupol at that time.

Prokopenko also posted the document on X.

“For our part, we demonstrated humanity and handed over to Alekseyev three Russian prisoners of war who had received medical treatment and were provided with food and water.”

Prokopenko, known by his callsign "Redis" spent few months in Russian captivity following the withdrawal from Mariupol, before being released in a high-profile swap in September 2022.

He said despite Alekseyev‘s promises that the surrendering Ukrainian soldiers would be treated in line with the Geneva Conventions, POWs from Azovstal were subject to systemic torture and abuse.

“The word of an officer, a native of Vinnytsia region, and a traitor to his homeland, proved to be worthless. The systematic torture of captured Azov fighters, the denial of medical care, and starvation are clear proof of this.”

"Even if Alekseyev survives this attempt, he will never sleep peacefully again. And one day, this will be finished," Prokopenko added.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: cyber; cyberops; gru; militaryintelligence; moscow; russia; thatsitwarsover; tldr; zeeperselated

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you.


1 posted on 02/06/2026 9:56:59 PM PST by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

“Vladimir Alekseyev has been under the EU sanctions for orchestrating the novichok poisoning attack in Salisbury in 2018”

That was fentanyl, and done by the British because he worked on the piss-gate dossier to give it Russian “flavor”. He worked for Steele. If the Russians wanted him dead it would have been simple when they had him in prison tears before, serving a sentence for being a British double agent.


2 posted on 02/06/2026 10:05:24 PM PST by DesertRhino (When men on the chessboard, get up and tell you where to go…)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

You Give Love a Bad Name
By Bon Jovi

Shot through the heart and you’re to blame
Darling, you give love a bad name.

An angel’s smile is what you sell
You promised me heaven, then put me through hell.

Woah, you’re a loaded gun
Oh, there’s nowhere to run
No one can save me, the damage is done

Shot through the heart and you’re to blame
You give love a bad name (Bad name)
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name (Bad name)


3 posted on 02/06/2026 10:06:49 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

06/02/2026
We are a long way off from June 2.
4 posted on 02/06/2026 10:10:02 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is goings to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway
Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the assassination attempt on Vladimir Alekseev “demonstrates Ukraine's desire to undermine the peace process”.

Gonna get colder in Kiev.

5 posted on 02/06/2026 10:10:36 PM PST by McGruff
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: frank ballenger

Uh?


6 posted on 02/06/2026 10:11:29 PM PST by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Olog-hai
We are a long way off from June 2.

Today was February 6th. Day/month/year is a far more common format than month/day/year.

7 posted on 02/06/2026 10:15:25 PM PST by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

For posts that make sense, skip over mine.

Apologies.


8 posted on 02/06/2026 10:27:25 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: frank ballenger

Is Bon Jovi Putin’s favorite?


9 posted on 02/06/2026 10:28:17 PM PST by nickcarraway
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

No, but get this:

Putin sang the American song “Blueberry Hill” in 2010 at a children’s charity concert in St. Petersburg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekeq4szDmJo

You’re welcome.


10 posted on 02/06/2026 10:35:21 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

But this is a US-based board.


11 posted on 02/06/2026 10:37:11 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is goings to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the assassination attempt on Vladimir Alekseev “demonstrates Ukraine’s desire to undermine the peace process”

LOL. Lying Lavrov


12 posted on 02/07/2026 3:29:14 AM PST by nuconvert ( Warning: Accused of being a radical militarist. Approach with caution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Grok:

The shooting technique involving two shots to the chest (or torso/center of mass) followed by one to the head is known as the Mozambique drill (also called the failure drill or failure-to-stop drill).

It originated from an incident during the Mozambican War of Independence (around the late 1960s/early 1970s) in what is now Mozambique, Africa. Mike Rousseau, a Rhodesian mercenary, encountered a FRELIMO fighter armed with an AK-47 at close range in an airport confrontation. He fired two quick shots from his Browning Hi-Power pistol into the fighter’s upper chest, but the attacker continued advancing. Rousseau then fired a follow-up shot to the head (striking the base of the neck/spinal cord), which stopped the threat.

Rousseau later shared the experience with Jeff Cooper (founder of Gunsite Academy and a key figure in modern shooting techniques), who formalized and named it the “Mozambique drill” after the location. Cooper incorporated it into training as a method to address situations where body shots fail to incapacitate (e.g., due to adrenaline, drugs, or body armor), starting with two rapid shots to the larger torso target, then transitioning to a precise head shot if needed.

It is informally summarized as “two to the body, one to the head.” The technique emphasizes assessment after the initial shots in some formalized versions (e.g., at Gunsite), while variants like the “failure to stop drill” (popularized in law enforcement contexts, such as by LAPD SWAT) involve a more immediate transition to the head shot.


13 posted on 02/07/2026 4:24:18 AM PST by Uncle Miltie (No American Blood for censorious socialist islamophiles!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

I tend to label files by year/month/day to make it easier for me to visually find them later.


14 posted on 02/07/2026 5:02:55 AM PST by Paladin2 (YMMV)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Bkmk


15 posted on 02/07/2026 6:23:58 AM PST by sauropod
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Was cleaning his gun ? Move along


16 posted on 02/07/2026 6:53:32 AM PST by butlerweave (Fateh)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nickcarraway

Mystery assailant did not have enough time on the range or neeeds a large caliber.


17 posted on 02/07/2026 7:20:00 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Olog-hai

06/02/2026 We are a long way off from June 2.


European dating: day month year


18 posted on 02/07/2026 7:21:40 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson