News Desk

MOSCOW: Russia says it has identified three suspects involved in the shooting of high-profile military figure Lt Gen Vladimir Alexeyev.

They include the man accused of having carried out the attack, named as Ukrainian-born Russian citizen Lyubomir Korba.

Russia’s Investigations Committee (SK) said Korba arrived in the capital, Moscow, in late December “on assignment from Ukrainian intelligence services to commit a terrorist attack”. Kyiv has reportedly denied involvement.

Alexeyev, 64, was taken to hospital after the attack in a residential block of flats in the north-western outskirts of Moscow on Friday. He has since regained consciousness following surgery, according to Russian media reports.

Alexeyev is number two in the main directorate of GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, and the latest high-ranking military figure to have been targeted in or near Moscow since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said on Sunday that his attacker had fired three shots before fleeing and that Korba had then travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the hours after the shooting. He has since been arrested and extradited.

Russian state TV channel Ru-24 aired footage showing security agents escorting Korba off a plane at an unknown location.

“Investigators conducted a thorough inspection at the scene, during which they discovered the murder weapon – a Makarov pistol with a silencer and three rounds of ammunition,” Petrenko added. Forensic tests are being carried out on the gun.

Russian media, quoting Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, reported that President Vladimir Putin had thanked UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday for his country’s help in catching Korba.