On February 6, 2026, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), was shot and seriously wounded in an apparent assassination attempt in Moscow. An unidentified gunman fired on Alekseyev as he was leaving his apartment building, after which he was rushed to a hospital in serious condition, according to The New York Times. Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation and blamed Ukraine for the attack, saying it might be intended to undermine ongoing peace talks, an accusation Kyiv has not publicly confirmed. The incident follows a string of attacks on senior Russian military figures and has raised questions about security and political tensions amid the war in Ukraine.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a significant number of high-ranking Russian military officials have been killed both on the battlefield and through targeted assassinations within Russian territory.

Recent Assassinations and Attacks in Russia
In recent months, a series of high-profile attacks have targeted generals in or near Moscow:

• Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev (Feb 6, 2026): The deputy head of the GRU (military intelligence) was shot several times in a residential building on Volokolamskoye Highway in Moscow. He remains in critical condition.
• Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov (Dec 22, 2025): The head of the General Staff’s operational training directorate was killed by a car bomb planted under his vehicle in Moscow.
• Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik (April 25, 2025): A deputy head in the General Staff’s main operational directorate was killed by a car bomb in Balashikha, Moscow Oblast.
• Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov (Dec 2024): The chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Protection Troops was killed by an explosive device hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment in Moscow.