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Vladimir Alekseyev (general)

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In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Stepanovich and the family name is Alekseyev.

Vladimir Alekseyev
Vladimir Alekseyev in 2023
Native name
Владимир Алексеев
Born (1961-04-24) 24 April 1961 (age 64)
Holodky [uk], Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
AllegianceRussia
BranchGRU
Service years1980–present
RankLieutenant general
Conflicts
AwardsHero of the Russian Federation
Alma materRyazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School
SpouseGalina Alekseyeva
Children2

Vladimir Stepanovich Alekseyev (Russian: Владимир Степанович Алексеев; born 24 April 1961) is a Russian lieutenant general who has served as first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) since 2011. He was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation for his involvement in the Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war. Alekseyev is known to have intelligence connections to paramilitary groups around the world.[1] The European Union and UK placed Alekseyev under sanctions after they accused the GRU of being behind the 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury in the UK.[2] He was also allegedly involved in interfering in the 2020 United States presidential election.[3]

Alekseyev was shot and seriously wounded in Moscow on 6 February 2026.[4]

Biography

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Vladimir Stepanovich Alekseyev was born on 24 April 1961, in the village of Holodky, Khmilnyk Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. He was the son of a disabled father and a nurse mother. Villagers later recalled that Alekseyev showed an interest in a military career from a young age. After completing secondary school, he was unsuccessful in gaining admission to a military school, and was subsequently conscripted into the military. Alekseyev was then admitted to the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, graduating in 1984. He moved to Russia and married a Russian woman, Galina, with whom he had two children.[5]

Alekseyev served in Spetsnaz special forces units, rising to chief of the intelligence directorate of the Moscow Military District headquarters, and then in the same position in the Far Eastern Military District. Later he was transferred to the central staff of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), where he headed the 14th department, responsible for the Spetsnaz.[6] Alekseyev was appointed chief of staff and first deputy head of the Main (Intelligence) Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2011, and was promoted to lieutenant general.[7] The last time Alekseyev visited his birthplace was in September 2014, after the War in Donbas had begun, for the funeral of his mother.[5] Alekseyev was sanctioned by the United States for organizing "malicious cyberattacks" during the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[8] During the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war, he supervised military intelligence officers. For his "courage and heroism, shown in the execution of military duty," Alekseyev was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation by a secret decree in 2017.[7] Alekseyev was sanctioned by the European Union in January 2019 for orchestrating the 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the United Kingdom, then a member of the EU.[9]

In 2019 Vladimir Alekseyev, as deputy head of the GRU, led the team in Ukraine that interfered in the 2020 United States Presidential Elections through Rudy Giuliani and the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory.[10] According to charges filed by Ukraine, Alekseyev paid the team of Oleksandr Dubinsky, Andrii Derkach, and Kostiantyn Kulyk ten million US dollars for subversive activities.[11]

In May 2022, he was identified as the top military intelligence commander responsible for Ukraine by Tsargrad TV, after the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, signaling a switch of responsibility for targeting Ukraine in intelligence operations away from the 5th Service of the FSB.[12] Alekseyev was among the Russian representatives in the negotiations for the July 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative, and at the time Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev identified him as supervising Russian private military companies.[13] He was sanctioned by Canada on 19 August 2022 for being complicit in the Russian regime's aggression against Ukraine.[14]

According to Kommersant Alekseyev is believed to have been a founder of Wagner as well as other private military companies.[15] When the Wagner Group rebellion began on 23 June 2023, Alekseyev appeared in a video in which he condemned the actions of the Wagner Group as a coup, a "stab in the back of the country and president. Only the president has the authority to appoint senior military leadership, and you are trying to encroach on his power."[16] Hours later, Alekseyev and deputy minister of defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov negotiated with Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in Rostov-on-Don.[17] In response to Prigozhin's demand to hand over Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, he told him, "You can have them".[18]

Attempted assassination

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Around 7 am local time,[15] 6 February 2026, Alekseyev was shot multiple times in a residential building near Volokolamsk Highway (part of the Moscow Ring Road) in Moscow.[19][20] He was immediately transported to a hospital, where reports indicated that his condition was critical.[21] According to Oleg Tsaryov, Alekseyev remained in a coma following surgery.[22] According to Russian news outlet Kommersant two men were under suspicion.[23] Oleg Tsaryov wrote on Telegram that two men had been detained in Dubai and were on their way to Moscow, according to The Insider,[24] and Novaya Gazeta reported the same information on Telegram channels Mash and Shot.[25] The next day Tass reported that Alkseyev had regained consciousness.[25]

On 8 February 2026, it was reported that "a native of the Ternopil region of the Ukrainian SSR" had been detained in the United Arab Emirates in connection with the attempted assassination,[26][27] and extradited to Russia.[28]

Decorations

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Alekseyev is a recipient of the following decorations:[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marten, Kimberly (1 September 2023). "Why the Wagner Group Cannot Be Easily Absorbed by the Russian Military—and What That Means for the West". Russia Matters. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Russian general Alexeyev shot several times in Moscow attack". www.bbc.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksandr Dubinsky arrested for treason The deputy is suspected of working for Russia and interfering in U.S. elections". Meduza. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Russian general shot and wounded in Moscow, in latest attack on top military leaders". CNN. 6 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b "#ВУкраине: свой чужой генерал" [#InUkraine: Our Foreign General]. Current Time TV (in Russian). 6 December 2022.
  6. ^ Kuksenkova, Irina (28 October 2011). "Россия сольет разведчиков" [Russia to merge intelligence officers]. Moskovsky Komsomolets (in Russian).
  7. ^ a b c Smirnov, Vitaly. "Алексеев Владимир Степанович" [Alekseyev, Vladimir Stepanovich]. Warheroes (in Russian).
  8. ^ "Министерство финансов США вводит санкции в отношении российских киберсубъектов в связи с вмешательством в американские выборы 2016 года и вредоносными кибератаками" [The US Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on Russian cyber actors in connection with interference in the 2016 US elections and malicious cyberattacks.]. Посольство и консульства США в Российской Федерации (in Russian). US Embassy in Russia. 15 March 2018.
  9. ^ "ЕС ввел санкции против ГРУ за применение химоружия в Солсбери" [EU imposes sanctions against GRU for use of chemical weapons in Salisbury]. BBC Russian Service (in Russian). 21 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Ukraine charges officials tied to Hunter Biden probe and Russia". www.bbc.com. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Ukraine charges Rudy Giuliani's top local ally with Moscow-linked treason". POLITICO. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  12. ^ Borogan, Irina; Soldatov, Andrei (9 May 2022). "The Shadow War: Putin Strips Spies of Ukraine Role". CEPA. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  13. ^ Kovalenko, Yelena (19 July 2022). "На зерновые переговоры в Стамбул Россия отправила куратора наемников" [Russia sent a mercenary handler to Istanbul for grain talks]. UNIAN (in Russian).
  14. ^ "Elites and close associates of the Regime". www.international.gc.ca. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Выстрел в переговорном процессе" [A shot in the negotiation process]. Коммерсантъ. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  16. ^ ""Пока не поздно, нужно остановить колонны и подчиниться воле президента". Генерал Суровикин призвал бойцов ЧВК Вагнера "решить вопросы мирным путем"" ["Before it's too late, we must stop the convoys and submit to the president's will." General Surovikin called on Wagner PMC fighters to "resolve the issues peacefully."]. Meduza (in Russian). 23 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Пригожин объяснил высшим чинам российской армии, что с ним надо говорить на вы" [Prigozhin explained to the top ranks of the Russian army that they should speak to him formally.]. Meduza (in Russian).
  18. ^ "Действующие лица военного мятежа" [Characters of the military rebellion] (in Russian). Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  19. ^ "В деле о покушении на генерала Алексеева появились первые подозреваемые" [The first suspects have emerged in the assassination attempt on General Alekseev.]. Коммерсантъ. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Senior Russian officer shot in Moscow in apparent assassination attempt". Al Jazeera. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  21. ^ "Russian intelligence official under Western sanctions is shot and wounded in Moscow". Reuters. 6 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  22. ^ Sauer, Pjotr (6 February 2026). "Russian general Vladimir Alekseyev in critical condition after Moscow shooting". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  23. ^ "Two suspects in attempted killing of Russian general 'will soon be interrogated', newspaper cites source". Arab News. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  24. ^ "По делу о покушении на замглавы ГРУ Владимира Алексеева арестовали двоих человек. Сам Алексеев пришел в сознание" [Two people have been arrested in connection with the assassination attempt on GRU Deputy Head Vladimir Alekseev. Alekseev himself has regained consciousness.]. The Insider. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  25. ^ a b "Deputy head of Russian military intelligence regains consciousness in hospital after assassination attempt". Novaya Gazeta Europe. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  26. ^ "A native of Ternopil region tried to kill General Alekseev". EurAsia Daily. 8 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  27. ^ Times, The Moscow (8 February 2026). "Man Suspected of Shooting GRU General Arrested in Dubai, FSB Says". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  28. ^ "Attacker and his accomplice in assassination attempt on Russian general nabbed — FSB". TASS. 8 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
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