Moscow (AFP) - The Russian Security Service (FSB) announced on Sunday that the person suspected of carrying out an attempt to assassinate a senior Russian official in Moscow, which was attributed to Ukraine, was arrested in Dubai and handed over to Russia after fleeing to the United Arab Emirates.
Published on: 02/08/2026 - 10:59
General Vladimir Alekseev was targeted on Friday with several gunshots and was taken to hospital, after a series of assassinations in Russia and the Ukrainian territories controlled by Moscow, targeting army officials, local politicians, and others who support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv claimed responsibility for some of these operations.
Vladimir Alexeyev, who survived, is the first assistant to the head of Russian military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov, who also heads the Russian delegation to the peace negotiations with Ukraine.
The Russian Security Service said that a Russian citizen, born in 1960, is considered the “direct perpetrator of the crime,” and was “arrested and handed over to Russia” after he fled to Dubai.
The agency added, as reported by Russian news agencies, that one of its partners was arrested in Moscow, while a woman, a third partner, succeeded in fleeing to Ukraine.
Western countries had previously imposed sanctions on Alexeyev (64 years old) on suspicion of his role in cyber attacks attributed to Russia, in addition to accusing him of masterminding an attack in which a nerve gas was used against Russian opposition member Sergei Skripal in 2018 in the United Kingdom.
His official personal biography stated that he distinguished himself in intelligence operations in Syria, where Moscow intervened militarily in 2015 in support of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad against opposition factions and jihadists.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Kiev of being behind the assassination attempt on Alexeyev, and by doing so seeking to thwart the ongoing US-brokered talks to reach a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
© 2026 AFP
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