Russia accuses Kyiv of gun attack on army general in Moscow

AFP | London

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

A top Russian military intelligence general was shot and wounded in a Moscow apartment building yesterday, in what Russia called an assassination attempt orchestrated by Ukraine.

There was no comment from Kyiv, which has claimed responsibility for several of the high-ranking military officials that have been killed on Russian soil since Moscow launched its full-scale offensive in February 2022.

Vladimir Alekseyev is the deputy head of Moscow’s GRU military intelligence. He is under Western sanctions for his alleged role in cyberattacks and charges that he organised a nerve agent attack on a Russian defector in Britain.

Russian investigators said he was shot by an “unidentified individual” who fled the scene, and was subsequently admitted to hospital.

In televised comments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the “terrorist act”, saying Kyiv wanted to “disrupt the negotiation process” aimed at ending the four-year war.

Alekseyev is the top deputy of Moscow’s main negotiator at trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States, the latest round of which concluded Thursday in Abu Dhabi.

The Kremlin acknowledged its military leaders were under threat at home while its troops were fighting in Ukraine.

“It is clear that such military leaders and high-level specialists are at risk during wartime,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“But it is not up to the Kremlin to decide how to ensure their safety. That is a matter for the special services.”

He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was being kept aware of the incident and the Kremlin hoped the general would recover.