The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claims that two suspects in the assassination attempt on Vladimir Alekseev, the first deputy head of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GRU), have pleaded guilty.
According to the Russians, shooter Lubomyr Korba was recruited by SBU in cooperation with Polish intelligence services in August 2025. The Poles used his son Lubos, who lives in Katowice.
Korba underwent rifle training at a training ground in Kyiv in August, and that same month he was sent on the Kyiv-Chisinau-Tbilisi-Moscow route. He monitored high-ranking military personnel, and in December he received the task of killing Alekseev. SBU offered $30 000 for it.
From a cache in the Moscow region, he took a pistol with a silencer, which was provided by SBU, as well as a key to the entrance where Alekseev lived. FSB claims that it was provided by Alekseev’s neighbour Zinaida Serebrytska, who had already left for Ukraine.
The day before yesterday, Russian law enforcement officials claimed that Korba had been detained in the United Arab Emirates and extradited to Russia.
Korbaʼs accomplice Viktor Vasin, who the FSB says also confessed to the assassination attempt, rented the apartment where Korba lived while he was planning the assassination attempt and provided him with travel tickets. Vasin is a supporter of the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation and has previously participated in protests.
The assassination attempt on Russian GRU General Vladimir Alekseev — what is known
On February 6, the GRU Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev was shot in Moscow. He ended up in the hospital, and the attacker fled.
According to the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Alekseev is a native of Ukraine and has held the position of First Deputy Head of GRU since 2011. He is responsible for intelligence and preparation of data for strikes on Ukraine, in particular on civilian objects, as well as for the creation of the so-called Kherson Peopleʼs Republic.
He previously led intelligence for Russian forces in Syria, a group that has caused widespread civilian casualties. He was awarded the title of Hero of Russia in 2017. He is also believed to have been involved in interference in the 2016 US presidential election, including cyberattacks and campaigns to discredit the electoral system, for which he is under US sanctions.
The commander of the 1st Corps of the “Azov” National Guard, Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, wrote that Alekseev was a participant in the negotiations on behalf of the Russian Federation on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Mariupol "Azovstal" in May 2022.
He promised compliance with the Geneva Convention and normal conditions for Ukrainian prisoners. However, these promises turned out to be "worthless" — regular torture of “Azov” prisoners, lack of medical care, and hunger are proof of this.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, in response to Russian accusations about the "Ukrainian trace", stated that Ukraine had nothing to do with the incident.
“We don’t know what happened to this particular general. Maybe it was an internal Russian showdown,” he said.
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