FSB: Gunman targeting Russian general trained in Kyiv, promised $30,000

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that the gunman who shot Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev received firearms training at a shooting range in Kyiv and was reportedly promised $30,000 for the assassination attempt.

The suspects, Lyubomir Korba and his accomplice Viktor Vasin, have admitted guilt and begun providing testimony, Caliber.Az reports, citing the SHOT Telegram channel.

The direct perpetrator stated that he also surveilled other high-ranking military officials in Moscow, used a silenced pistol retrieved from a prepared cache, and trained at the Kyiv range.

Investigators determined that Korba was recruited by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) in August 2025, and the gunman’s recruitment was reportedly facilitated with the assistance of Polish intelligence services and Korba’s son, who resides in Katowice.

Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev, deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence, was shot multiple times in his Moscow apartment building on 6 February 2026, and Russian authorities quickly accused Ukraine of orchestrating the attack without presenting independent evidence.

Alekseev was a key figure in Russia’s intelligence operations, involved in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, high‑profile negotiations like the 2023 Wagner Group mutiny, and has been sanctioned by the US, UK and EU for alleged involvement in past covert operations such as election interference and a nerve agent attack.

Ukraine has officially denied involvement in the assassination attempt, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stating Kyiv had no connection to the incident and suggesting alternative explanations such as internal Russian disputes.

By Jeyhun Aghazada