The alleged author of the attempted assassination of a senior Russian military official says he was recruited by Kyiv, according to the FSB
The suspect in the Moscow shooting of a high‑ranking Russian military officer, who was detained in the United Arab Emirates, has confessed and told investigators he was recruited by Ukrainian security services, the Russian Federal Security Service said on Monday.
General Vladimir Alekseïev was shot several times on Friday inside a Moscow residential building and was hospitalized. The attack follows a series of killings in Russia and in Ukrainian‑controlled territories of army figures, local politicians and ideological supporters of the war in Ukraine, some of which have been claimed by Kyiv.
Accused of being the “direct executor” and arrested in Dubai, Lioubomir Korba, 1960‑born and his accomplice Viktor Vassine, 1959‑born and detained in Moscow, “have admitted their guilt,” the FSB said in a statement. They “recounted the details of the preparations” for the assassination attempt carried out “on orders from the Ukrainian security services (SBU).”
According to the statement, Mr. Korba “was recruited by an SBU agent in August 2025,” with help from his son Liouboch Korba, a Polish citizen, before undergoing sniper training in Kyiv and being sent to Russia. He was offered “30 000 dollars [25 000 euros]” for killing General Alekseïev, was handed a silenced pistol and an electronic key to his building’s entrance, the FSB said.
A female associate of Lioubomir Korba, Zinaïda Serebritskaïa, had rented an apartment in the building and fled abroad the day before the crime.
On Friday, Korba entered the building and fired four shots at General Alekseïev before fleeing to the United Arab Emirates, where Russian investigators secured his arrest. Viktor Vassine, identified as Korba’s accomplice, is accused of renting the Moscow apartment for him and providing public‑transport tickets, the statement added.
Accused of involvement in the plot for “terrorist motives,” Mr. Vassine is a supporter of the anti‑corruption foundation (FBK) linked to the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, an organization classified as extremist in Russia, the FSB said. General Alekseïev, who survived, is the first deputy to the head of Russia’s military intelligence service, Igor Kostyukov, who too leads the Russian delegation in talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the conflict that began in February 2022. The case underscores the growing covert dimension of the Russia‑Ukraine war and could influence future diplomatic negotiations.
