The high-ranking Russian general who survived an assassination attempt has woken up from a coma. What is known about the state of the number two in military espionage

The Russian general shot in Moscow on Friday, Vladimir Alekseiev, regained consciousness on Saturday, after being placed in an induced coma following a surgical intervention, and his life is no longer in danger, EFE informs, according to Agerpres.

“The operation went well. He was later placed in a medically induced coma, but now he has woken up and is conscious. At the moment, we can say that his life is not in danger,” a source close to the TASS news agency told the media.

Meanwhile, the Kommersant newspaper reports that police have detained two suspects who are being questioned.

Alekseiev is the first deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and led the Russian delegation to the recent talks with Ukraine in the United Arab Emirates.

He was shot multiple times in the abdomen, arm and leg at his home in Moscow, according to Russian media, which suggested the attacker was disguised as a courier and could be a woman.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the assassination attempt to sabotage peace talks.

The attack on Alekseiev adds to a long list of attacks on senior Russian military officials, the most recent of which was last December when the head of operations of the Russian General Staff, Fanil Sarvarov, was killed in a car bombing in Moscow.

Russian propagandists, angry that high-ranking military personnel are not protected

The reactions, published on influential Telegram channels and those affiliated with Russian propaganda, suggest that there is a wide range of increasingly open dissatisfaction with the way Moscow handles the security of its own military commanders.

According to these voices, Alekseev is considered a symbolic opponent by Ukraine, being associated with the capitulation of the Ukrainian garrison at the Azovstal compound in 2022.

The assassination attempt is presented by propagandists as proof that the Ukrainian secret services are capable of operating beyond the front line, deep into Russian territory. “How long?” asked a pro-Kremlin voice.

According to Meduza, which summarized the reactions coming from pro-war channels, voices close to the regime are asking why Russian generals benefit from less protection than politicians and high-ranking officials, and why the issue of the security of the military leadership is being discussed only after four years of war in Ukraine.

Connections with Wagner

For years, Alekseiev has been involved in high-level military planning, including overseeing operations in Syria. In 2017, Alekseev was awarded the title of “Hero of Russia”, one of the country's highest state awards.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency accused Alekseev of identifying targets for Russian air and missile strikes in Ukraine and helping to legitimize Moscow's occupation of captured territories by orchestrating referendums.

Alekseev is known for his close ties with volunteer and mercenary formations in Russia, including the Wagner group.

When the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged a short-lived revolt in June 2023, Alekseev was one of the senior officials sent to negotiate with him.

During Prigozhin's uprising, Alekseev and Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Evkurov were captured by Wagner mercenaries in Rostov-on-Don, according to the independent Russian publication The Moscow Times.

Then a video emerged in which Prigozhin explains to generals in the Russian Ministry of Defense that he wants to “catch” Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov and Prime Minister Sergei Shoigu, or he will go to Moscow.

“Take them,” replied Alekseev with a smile, who the day before had recorded a message addressed to the Wagner fighters, accusing them of a coup d'état and urging them to “change their minds.”