The alleged target of the attack was Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, a high-ranking officer in Russia’s military. Reports suggest that the assailant posed as a delivery person and shot Alekseyev twice in the stairwell of his apartment building, hitting him in the foot and arm.
Alekseyev reportedly tried to wrestle the gun away but was shot a third time in the chest before the attacker fled the scene, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant and AP. His current condition has not been independently confirmed.
No outside verification has yet confirmed the identity or motives of the assailant, and the incident comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The Kremlin’s narrative is consistent with previous claims attributing attacks on Russian officials to Ukrainian forces.
