Top Russian GRU general Vladimir Alekseyev shot in Moscow attack

A top Russian GRU general and a military intelligence official were shot several times in a residential building by an unidentified gunman in Moscow on Friday.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was immediately hospitalised following the attack, the Russian Investigative Committee reported.

The committee said that "an as-yet-unidentified individual fired several shots at a man and fled the scene."

The general’s current condition is unknown, but he was reported to have survived the attack.

Telegram channels Mash and Baza said that the general was shot from behind.

He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for being the mastermind of “ma

The investigative committe are currently working at the scene of the incident and reviewing CCTV footage, and questioning eyewitnesses. A case was opened on the grounds of an “attempted murder” \

Vladimir Alekseev is the First Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU). He has been the GRU number two since 2011.

In 2016, he was sanctioned by the US for being the mastermind behind the  “malicious cyber activities” during the US presidential election the same year.

He had also been accused by the UK and EU of orchestrating the Novichok weapons attacks in Salisbury in 2018, which targeted Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

In 2019, he was awarded the title of hero of the Russian Federation by the Kremlin.