Russia says man suspected of shooting top general has been detained in Dubai

A Russian citizen suspected of shooting top military intelligence officer Vladimir Alexeyev in Moscow has been detained in Dubai and returned to Russia, amid accusations from Moscow that Ukraine was behind the attack.

Russa

8 February 2026 at 09:18:47

Russia says man suspected of shooting top general has been detained in Dubai

Investigators walk out of a residential building where the assassination attempt on Russian Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev took place in Moscow, Russia February 6, 2026.

Anastasia Barashkova/Reuters

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Sunday that the man suspected of shooting top Russian military intelligence officer Vladimir Alexeyev in Moscow has been detained in Dubai and handed over to Russia.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence arm, was shot several times in an apartment block in Moscow on Friday, investigators said. He underwent surgery after the shooting, Russian media said.

The FSB said a Russian citizen named Lyubomir Korba was detained in Dubai on suspicion of carrying out the shooting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt, which he said was designed to sabotage peace talks. Ukraine said it had nothing to do with the shooting.

Alexeyev's boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU, has been leading Russia's delegation in negotiations with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on security-related aspects of a potential peace deal.

-Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Aidan Lewis/Reuters