On Feb. 6, Russian Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev, the first deputy head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU), was shot multiple times in his Moscow apartment building. Alekseyev was hospitalized and remains in serious condition. His role and rank indicates that he had deep involvement in Russia’s actions against Ukraine.
The recent attack follows years of assassinations of top military officials that Russian officials pin blame on Ukraine for. For example, in December 2025, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who is the head of the GRU’s army operational training directorate, was killed by a bomb placed underneath his car.
The incidents are part of an escalating sabotage campaign that includes high-profile assassination attempts, like those of Alekseyev and Sarvarov, as well as strikes on pipelines, trains, and trucks. Since 2022, the number of attacks — and deaths — have been steadily rising in Russia.
In December 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Biological and Chemical Defense Forces, was killed by a bomb planted on a scooter outside a residential building in Moscow. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging that he was responsible for the mass use of banned chemical weapons and was “a legitimate target.”
Furthermore, in April 2025, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in another car bomb explosion in Balashikha. Russian spokespeople again accused Ukraine of “terrorist activity,” language that officials use often in reference to sabotage or attacks.
Attacks were not limited to military officials — former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva, who defected to Russia in 2022, is seen by the country as a traitor and was shot and killed in December 2023. Earlier, in April of that year, pro-war military blogger Vladen Tatarsky was also killed by a bomb hidden inside a bust in St. Petersburg.
However, the so-called “shadow war” is occurring on both sides of the conflict. In August 2025, Andriy Parubiy was shot and killed in the city of Lviv. Parubiy was a prominent nationalist politician in Ukraine who had advocated for Ukrainian independence. Furthermore, on Feb. 19, Moldovan and Ukrainian officials launched an investigation into an assassination plot on public figures in Ukraine. They alleged that the plan was organized by Russian special services.
Although these attacks may be effective in chipping away at a country’s military capacities, it’s not the most impactful. And beyond that, the damage isn’t contained. The same explosions that killed people like Vladen Tatarsky killed and injured dozens of others, including civilians, who unfortunately happened to be at the same location. The assassinations also worsen hostility, diminishing the chance of possible negotiation and fueling a secretive cycle of escalation.
Despite the fact that these attacks often pursue those who have conducted war crimes, and are not always state sanctioned, they ultimately do more harm than good. While the atrocities they are seeking vengeance for are undeniably immoral, killing one person at the expense of other innocent civilians certainly isn’t the answer that should be pursued.