A Russian general was shot at an apartment building in Moscow on Friday and taken to a hospital, Russian officials said. 

Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement that "an unidentified individual fired several shots" at Vladimir Alekseyev, the deputy chief of military intelligence.

The spokesperson did not say who could be behind the shooting, and did not provide immediate information about Alekseyev's condition. 

A report by Russian business daily Kommersant cited by the Associated Press said the shooter posed as a delivery person and fired at Alekseyev in the stairway of his apartment building, wounding the general in the foot and arm. In an ensuing scuffle, Alekseyev tried to wrestle the gun away and was shot again in the chest before the assailant fled, the report said.

When asked about the shooting, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described it as a "terrorist act" by Ukraine intended to derail peace talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators that concluded in Abu Dhabi yesterday. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin has been informed about the shooting, without sharing further details. 

Ukrainian authorities haven't commented on the attack.

Alekseyev has served as deputy chief of Russian military intelligence since 2011, and led intelligence operations during Russia's intervention in the Syrian civil war.

Russian military officers targeted in the past

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, several top Russian military officers have been assassinated. The latest incident involved Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, ‌who was ‌killed by a bomb under his car on December 22.

In April 2025, senior Russian military officer, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, was killed by a car bomb near his apartment building outside Moscow. A suspected perpetrator was quickly arrested.

Moscow has blamed previous assassinations on Kyiv. In some cases, Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed responsibility, such as with the December 2024 killing of Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian army's chemical weapons division, who was killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. 

Edited by: Wesley Dockery