Russian authorities have announced the identification of three individuals connected to the shooting incident involving high-profile military official Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alexeyev. Among them is the alleged perpetrator, identified as Lyubomir Korba, a Russian citizen.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee (SK), Korba arrived in Moscow in late December. The committee stated that he was acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services, with the objective of carrying out a terrorist attack. Ukraine has reportedly denied any involvement in the incident.
General Alexeyev, 64, was hospitalized following the attack, which occurred on Friday within a residential building on Moscow’s northwestern outskirts. Russian media outlets have reported that he has since regained consciousness after undergoing surgery.
Alexeyev holds the second-highest position within the main directorate of Russia’s GRU military intelligence. His targeting marks the latest instance of a high-ranking military figure being attacked in or near Moscow since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine commenced in February 2022.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson, stated on Sunday that the attacker fired three shots before escaping the scene. Petrenko also indicated that Korba traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within hours of the shooting. He was subsequently arrested and extradited back to Russia.
Footage aired by the Russian state TV channel Ru-24 depicted security agents escorting Korba off an aircraft at an unspecified location. Investigators secured the murder weapon at the scene, identified as a Makarov pistol equipped with a silencer. Three rounds of ammunition were also found. Forensic examination of the firearm is currently underway.
Responding to the developments, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha stated on Friday, as quoted by Reuters, that Kyiv had no connection to the shooting and suggested it was an internal Russian matter. However, his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, accused Kyiv of orchestrating the attack as a means to disrupt ongoing negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict between the two nations, which began in February 2022.
Alexeyev’s superior, GRU head Adm. Igor Kostyukov, has been leading the Russian delegation in recent trilateral discussions with Ukraine and the United States, held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.
Korba is believed to have had at least one accomplice. The SK has named Viktor Vasin as another individual arrested by Moscow authorities and charged in connection with the case. Additionally, Zinaida Serebritskaya is suspected of involvement; she has since departed for Ukraine, though the extent of her role has not been detailed by Petrenko.
Ukraine has previously claimed responsibility for certain attacks targeting Russian military personnel. Russian intelligence officials, for their part, reported thwarting a potential attack on a Russian soldier in St. Petersburg late last month.
In January, an Uzbek national was convicted for the 2024 killing of another general, Igor Kirillov. Kirillov died following an explosion outside a Moscow apartment block. Sources within Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency indicated their agency’s involvement at that time.
Lt. Gen. Kirillov had been in charge of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection forces.
Earlier, in December 2025, another senior GRU officer, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, was killed when an explosive device detonated beneath his car in Moscow. According to Russia’s SK, Sarvarov was responsible for the armed forces’ operational training department.