"A top Russian military official has been taken to hospital after being shot in Moscow, state media reported. Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev was shot several times on the stairwell of his apartment on Friday by an unknown gunman in the north-west of the city and remains in critical condition, according to early reports. Alekseyev is a deputy director of Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, a unit in the defence ministry known for organising covert operations abroad, including assassinations, sabotage and espionage."
"He was one of the top officers providing Vladimir Putin with intelligence for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He has also been widely described as a key figure overseeing the country's private military companies and was among the senior officials dispatched to negotiate with Yevgeny Prigozhin during the Wagner group's brief mutiny in the summer of 2023. Alekseyev is under sanctions from Washington for his alleged involvement in efforts to interfere in the 2020 US presidential election. The UK also placed sanctions on him over the deadly 2018 novichok nerve agent attack in Salisbury."
"No party has claimed responsibility for shooting Alekseyev, but suspicion in Moscow is likely to fall on Kyiv. Ukrainian intelligence agencies have targeted dozens of Russian military officers and Russian-installed officials since the start of the war, accusing them of involvement in war crimes. The timing of the shooting is striking. It came a day after Russian and Ukrainian delegations - including Alekseyev's direct superior, Igor Kostyukov - met in Abu Dhabi, where both sides spoke of apparent progress in the peace talks."
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was shot several times on a stairwell in his Moscow apartment building and is in critical condition in hospital. He serves as a deputy director of the GRU, responsible for covert operations abroad including assassinations, sabotage and espionage. He provided intelligence for Russia's full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine and helped oversee private military companies, including negotiating with Yevgeny Prigozhin during the Wagner mutiny in 2023. Alekseyev is under US and UK sanctions for alleged election interference and the Salisbury novichok attack. No group has claimed responsibility; Moscow suspects Kyiv amid recent apparent progress in Abu Dhabi talks.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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