Moscow has blamed the UK for the assassination attempt on Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, a top officer from Russia’s Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU).
Alekseyev, a key figure in organizing Russia’s auxiliary mercenary forces, was shot on Feb. 6 in his apartment building. He survived the attack and was hospitalized.
Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), reiterated previous accusations that Kyiv’s Security Service (SBU) was behind the attack, while claiming in a new interview with Russian outlet Vesti that the UK also assisted in the operation.
Bortnikov provided no details to support his claims, however.
“We clearly understand that the Ukrainian intelligence services are the masterminds,” he said, adding that the FSB believes one suspect escaped and remains hiding in Ukraine.
“And behind them are third-party countries, which we’ve discussed previously, that Ukrainian intelligence services are operating under the supervision or oversight of Western intelligence services. We see a British connection here, first and foremost,” he continued.
“Therefore, the investigation is ongoing. If we have any additional information, we will certainly publish it,” he added, with no further information.
Previously, Bortnikov has also blamed London for helping Kyiv orchestrate “Operation Spiderweb” in June 2025 that decimated Russia’s strategic air fleet, again without concrete evidence.
What happened?
In the early hours of Feb. 6, Alekseyev was shot several times in the stairwell of his apartment building on Volokolamskoye Highway.
He was hospitalized in critical condition but regained consciousness after surgery, according to Russian media.
Three days after the attempt, the FSB said two suspects – Lyubomir Korba and Viktor Vasin – had confessed, claiming the attack was ordered by the SBU.
The FSB said Korba was recruited in August 2025, trained in Kyiv, and sent to Russia via Moldova and Georgia, with the Ukrainian security service promising him $30,000 for the attack.
The agency also claimed that Polish intelligence services were involved in recruiting Korba, using his son, a Polish citizen living in Katowice. No evidence was provided.
Russian security officials said Korba carried out surveillance of senior military officers in Moscow and received orders in December to assassinate Alekseyev.
He allegedly retrieved a pistol with a suppressor and an electronic key to the general’s apartment building from a weapons cache near Moscow.
The FSB said the key was provided by a woman who lived in the same building as Alekseyev and later left Russia for Ukraine.
The second suspect, Viktor Vasin, allegedly rented an apartment for Korba and helped him move around Moscow. The FSB described Vasin as a supporter of Russian opposition groups and protest movements.
Korba was arrested over the weekend in Dubai and “handed over to Russia,” the FSB said. He is in his 60s. Vasin, the alleged accomplice, was detained in Moscow, while another suspect reportedly escaped to Ukraine.
Who is Alekseyev?
Alekseyev, first deputy chief of Russia’s GRU since 2011, was born in Holodky, in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region, and rose through the ranks of Russia’s military intelligence after graduating from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School.
He currently serves as deputy to GRU head Adm. Igor Kostyukov and has led Russia’s delegation in recent negotiations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He has overseen operations in Syria, helped establish Russia’s Volunteer Corps, incorporating paramilitary units such as Redut and the now-disbanded Espanola brigade, which included former football hooligans.
He also played a key role in negotiating during the June 2023 Wagner mutiny, publicly condemning the uprising.
Alekseyev was awarded the title “Hero of Russia” in 2017 and has been sanctioned by Western governments for cyber operations, the Skripal poisoning in the UK, and his involvement in targeting Ukraine.