Top Russian Military Intelligence Officer Riddled With Bullets In Moscow

A high-profile general in Russia's military was reportedly wounded after being shot several times in Moscow. Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy head of Russia's military intelligence GRU, was immediately rushed to a hospital after the attack in a residential building on the northwestern outskirts of the city, according to a report by the BBC.

His condition is unknown. Alekseyev is the latest senior military figure to have been targeted in the capital since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began almost four years ago.

Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) previously identified him as a key figure responsible for coordinating missile and air strikes against Ukrainian civilian targets. Alekseyev was also placed under European Union sanctions after Russia's GRU military intelligence was accused of being behind a 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury, UK.

He was also sanctioned by the US in 2016 for organising "malicious cyber activities" during the American presidential election, which saw Donald Trump win his first term in office.

Alekseev has been the second in command of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces since 2011. He was reportedly awarded by the Kremlin with the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 2017.