Dubai detainee extradited to Moscow over shooting of top GRU general; Kyiv denies role
A Ukrainian-born Russian citizen has been extradited to Moscow from Dubai on suspicion of shooting Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev, the deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, Russian security officials and investigators said.
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Alexeyev, 64, was shot three times on Friday with a Makarov pistol fitted with a silencer inside an apartment block on the Volokolamsk Highway in northern Moscow, about 12 kilometers from the Kremlin, according to investigators. He underwent surgery and regained consciousness, his wife told a Russian war blogger.
Extradition and suspect
Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, said a Russian citizen identified as Lyubomir Korba was detained in Dubai in connection with the attack. Russian state media later showed masked FSB officers escorting a blindfolded man from a small jet after his return to Russia. The United Arab Emirates did not release details on the detention or transfer.
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s leader, for assistance in detaining the suspect, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. Independent verification of the suspects’ identities and movements was not immediately possible.
The FSB said it had identified two alleged accomplices, also Russian citizens. One, Viktor Vasin, was detained in Moscow; the other, Zinaida Serebritskaya, fled to Ukraine, Russian investigators said.
The attack in Moscow
The shooting of such a senior intelligence official inside the capital has amplified questions about the security surrounding top commanders directly involved in Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Some Russian commentators asked how Alexeyev’s movements could have been tracked and why safeguards failed in a residential building.
Russia has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the attack. Kyiv rejected that claim. “We don’t know what happened with that particular general — maybe it was their own internal Russian in-fighting,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Kyiv denies involvement
Behind the front lines of Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services have waged a shadow confrontation spanning cyberattacks, information operations, strikes on strategic infrastructure and targeted killings. Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed responsibility for assassinating several senior Russian officers. Kyiv has denied involvement in this case.
Since December 2024, three other officials holding the same rank as Alexeyev have been killed in or near Moscow, according to Russian reports, underscoring the growing risks to senior officers even far from the battlefield.
Shadow war and security questions
The GRU — a sprawling military intelligence agency that includes covert operatives abroad, special operations units and advanced cyber capabilities — has been central to Russia’s wartime strategy. Its chief, Adm. Igor Kostyukov, has been leading Russia’s delegation in Abu Dhabi talks with Ukraine on security-related elements of a potential peace framework.
Jailed nationalist Igor Girkin, a former FSB officer who has frequently criticized Russia’s military leadership, praised Alexeyev’s energy and courage and called the shooting “a serious blow to our special services,” in a post on Telegram.
A prominent figure in a turbulent era
Alexeyev came to national prominence during the Wagner mercenary group’s short-lived mutiny in June 2023, when he was filmed attempting to persuade Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to stand down. The rebellion collapsed within a day, and Prigozhin died in a plane crash two months later.
The high-profile attack, the contested claims about who ordered it, and the hurried extradition of a suspect from Dubai highlight how the war’s clandestine front is increasingly spilling into Russia’s political and security core — and how both Moscow and Kyiv are shaping narratives about accountability even as the investigation unfolds.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
