Russia says Dubai arrest yields suspect in GRU deputy shooting

The Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Feb. 8 that a Russian national, identified as Lyubomir Korba and described as "in his 60s," was detained in Dubai and handed over to Russian authorities on suspicion of shooting Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, the GRU's first deputy chief (FSB statement via NBC/AP/DW). The announcement came as investigators said they had identified two accomplices and were continuing a high-profile probe into the attack.

Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said the attacker fired three shots before fleeing and that Alekseyev was hospitalized after being shot several times at an apartment block in northwestern Moscow on Friday morning (Petrenko via AP/BBC/NBC). Russian media reported that Alekseyev underwent surgery and had regained consciousness after the operation (BBC).

Russian authorities said Korba travelled to the United Arab Emirates hours after the shooting and was detained there before being transferred to Russian custody (BBC; FSB via The Moscow Times). The FSB said it had identified two accomplices, one of whom was detained in Moscow and another who had "left for Ukraine" (FSB via The Moscow Times; DW). The Investigative Committee has named a man, Viktor Vasin, as arrested and charged in Moscow and identified a suspected female accomplice, Zinaida Serebritskaya, who is believed to have fled to Ukraine, according to BBC reporting (BBC).

The shooting occurred a day after two days of talks in Abu Dhabi involving Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators aimed at advancing ceasefire and other confidence-building measures; the Russian delegation there was led by Admiral Igor Kostyukov, the head of the GRU (NBC/AP/DW/BBC). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterized the attack as an apparent "terrorist act" by Ukraine intended to derail the peace talks and said law enforcement would pursue the investigation (Lavrov via NBC/AP). There was no immediate response from Kyiv in the reporting cited (NBC/AP/Guardian/BBC).

Alekseyev, reported as 64 by BBC and NBC, has served as the GRU's first deputy chief since 2011 and is among officials who have been sanctioned by Western states for alleged roles in cyber operations and the 2018 nerve-agent attack in Britain, Western reporting has noted (NBC/AP; Guardian). Russian officials and state-aligned media placed the shooting within a broader pattern of targeted attacks on senior military figures since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, citing several recent killings and attempted assassinations of high-ranking officers (DW; BBC).

The FSB's account of an arrest in Dubai has not been accompanied in the available reports by separate public confirmation from UAE authorities, and the legal mechanics of the transfer to Russian custody were not detailed in the statements cited (FSB via NBC/AP/DW). Russian outlets also referenced Kommersant reporting that investigators expect to interrogate and charge suspects soon, reflecting a widening investigation with both domestic and cross-border elements (Kommersant via DW).

The case is likely to intensify diplomatic scrutiny around the Abu Dhabi talks and the security of senior military officials, while raising questions about extradition procedures and the evidence Moscow intends to present tying suspects to the shooting. Russian law enforcement said the investigation is continuing and additional details will be released as processes proceed (FSB; Investigative Committee via AP/BBC).