FSB claims suspects confess in GRU general shooting in Moscow
Russia’s Federal Security Service claims two suspects in the assassination attempt on GRU deputy chief Vladimir Alekseev have confessed to their guilt, Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
The FSB identified the suspects as Liubomyr Korba and Viktor Vasin. The agency stated both have admitted their involvement in the attack on Alekseev, who is first deputy head of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate.
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Korba is originally from Ukraine’s Ternopil Oblast and allegedly arrived in Moscow at the end of December 2025 “on assignment from Ukrainian special services to carry out a terrorist act.”
Russian authorities claim he traveled via the route Kyiv–Chișinău–Tbilisi–Moscow and was tasked by the SBU with killing Alekseev for a promised $30,000.
The FSB said Korba retrieved a pistol with a suppressor and a key to Alekseev’s apartment building entrance from a cache in Moscow Oblast supposedly provided by Ukrainian intelligence.
Another alleged accomplice, Russian citizen Zinaida Serebritskaya, reportedly rented an apartment in the same building as Alekseev and fled to Ukraine after the attempt.
Korba was extradited from the UAE to Moscow the previous day. Russian authorities say the search for the organizers continues.
Assassination attempt on Alekseev
On February 6, an unidentified assailant attempted to shoot Alekseev in northwest Moscow. He survived and is in hospital in serious condition.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov linked the attack to Ukraine, claiming it was meant to disrupt negotiations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected any Ukrainian involvement, Reuters reported.
Azov commander Denys Prokopenko said Alekseev was the senior Russian representative during May 2022 negotiations in Mariupol guaranteeing normal conditions for captured Ukrainian defenders exiting the Azovstal plant.
Alekseev, originally from Ukraine’s Vinnytsia Oblast, has held his GRU position since 2011. Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence lists him as a war criminal responsible for intelligence support of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including preparation of targeting data for strikes on Ukrainian territory and organizing so-called referendums to legitimize occupation.
In 2022, Bellingcat investigator Christo Grozev reported that Alekseev oversaw private military companies fighting in Ukraine.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigations identified him as one of the main overseers of all Russian “volunteer” formations operating in Ukraine.
- Share: