Russian authorities announced on Sunday that the individual suspected of shooting a deputy chief of Russia’s military intelligence agency in Moscow was apprehended in Dubai and extradited to Russia, with claims that he was acting on behalf of Ukraine.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was hospitalized after being shot multiple times on Friday by an attacker at an apartment complex in northwestern Moscow, according to Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko. This incident followed a series of targeted killings of high-ranking military officials, which Russia has attributed to Ukraine.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) disclosed that a Russian national named Lyubomir Korba was captured in Dubai under suspicion of carrying out the shooting. The FSB further revealed that two alleged accomplices were identified, with one arrested in Moscow and the other reportedly fleeing to Ukraine.
Russia’s Investigative Committee released a statement on the Telegram messaging service, asserting that Korba had arrived in Moscow in December on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services to carry out a terrorist attack.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, when asked about the shooting, referred to it as a potential “terrorist act” orchestrated by Ukraine to disrupt peace negotiations. Following the allegations made by Russia, there was no immediate response from Kyiv.
The shooting incident occurred following peace talks in Abu Dhabi involving Russian, Ukrainian, and U.S. representatives, aimed at resolving the longstanding conflict in Ukraine. The Russian delegation, led by Admiral Igor Kostyukov, included Alekseyev’s superior.
Alekseyev, aged 64, has held the position of first deputy head of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, since 2011. He was honored with the Hero of Russia award for his contributions to Moscow’s military operations in Syria. In June 2023, he was featured on state television conversing with mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin during a mutiny by the Wagner Group in Rostov-on-Don.
Additionally, a fatal Russian airstrike struck a residential area in eastern Ukraine, resulting in one fatality and two injuries, as confirmed by officials on Sunday. The attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, ignited a blaze in a nine-story apartment building, as reported by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
Furthermore, Russia targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Poltava region overnight, as disclosed by Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company, Naftogaz. This assault is part of Russia’s strategy to destabilize Ukraine’s power grid, particularly during the winter months, in an effort to undermine Ukrainian resilience, a tactic referred to by Kyiv officials as “weaponizing winter.”
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy revealed that the U.S. has set a deadline for both Ukraine and Russia to reach a peace agreement by June. Failure to meet this deadline may result in increased pressure from the Trump administration on both parties to resolve the ongoing conflict. Zelenskyy emphasized the urgency of achieving a comprehensive resolution by June to bring an end to the war.