general Vladimir Alekseev shot in Moscow amid ceasefire talks
London: A senior Russian general has been shot by an unidentified gunman in Moscow at a key stage of ceasefire talks over the war in Ukraine, sparking fears it could sabotage a potential deal.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev, who has been sanctioned by Western governments for suspected involvement in poisonings and cybercrime, was hospitalized after being shot six times near an apartment building.
The general, a key aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was part of the leadership group that planned an all-out invasion of Ukraine four years ago and helped the Russian President crush a 2023 rebellion by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The attack came a day after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met with US officials in Abu Dhabi to discuss a possible ceasefire. The Russian delegation was led by Igor Kostyukov, head of Russian military intelligence and Alekseyev’s commander.
US President Donald Trump tried to broker a peace deal over Ukraine but stopped providing military support to the country, expecting European countries to pay for American-made weapons and missile defense systems.
Trump sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to the talks.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, had a positive view of the talks before the news of the assassination attempt in Moscow.
In his statement on social media on Wednesday, the first day of the talks, Umerov said, “The discussions were comprehensive and productive, focusing on concrete steps and practical solutions.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was cautious about the results of the peace talks.
“What can already be said is that further meetings are planned in the near future, probably in the United States,” he said on Thursday, a day before the clash.
“We are ready for all feasible formats that will truly bring peace closer, make it reliable, lasting and deprive Russia of the desire to continue the war.
“It is very important that this war ends in a way that leaves Russia with no reward for its aggression. This is one of the fundamental principles that restore and guarantee real security.”
Russian forces bombarded Ukrainian targets with 32 ballistic missiles from Monday to Tuesday this week, despite Trump’s claims that Putin had agreed to suspend strikes for a week.
Russian missiles and drones hit energy systems across Ukraine during one of the coldest times of the year, when temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Attacks continued across Ukraine on Friday morning (Friday night AEDT), sounding alarms in Kiev and other cities.
Zelensky confirmed on Friday that there were other attacks on energy systems and logistics.
“The situation remains difficult in Kiev, where more than 1,200 buildings in different parts of the capital are unheated,” he said on social media.
“I think the performance of the Air Force in some regions of Ukraine is inadequate.”
The assassination attempt in Moscow is the latest example of an attack on a Russian military leader. In December, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, Head of the Operational Training Department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed by a bomb planted in his car.
In April, another senior Russian officer, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the General Staff’s main operations department, was killed by an explosive device planted in his car parked near his apartment building just outside Moscow. A Russian man who previously lived in Ukraine pleaded guilty to carrying out the attack and said he was paid by Ukraine’s security services.
In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter exploded in front of his apartment building. Kirillov’s assistant also died. Ukrainian security services claimed responsibility for the attack.
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
