Russia says suspect in shooting of top general detained in Dubai
Moscow says Russian Lyubomir Korba was held in Dubai for a shooting, with two accomplices identified – one in Moscow, while one fled to Ukraine
Russia’s Federal Security Service said on Sunday that the man suspected of shooting a deputy chief of Russia’s military intelligence agency in Moscow was detained in Dubai and handed over to Russia.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev was hospitalised after being shot several times on Friday by an assailant at a residential building in northwestern Moscow, Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said. The attack followed a series of assassinations of senior military officers that Russia has blamed on Ukraine.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) said a Russian citizen, Lyubomir Korba, was detained in Dubai on suspicion of carrying out the shooting. In a statement on its website, the FSB said it had also identified two “accomplices”, one of whom was detained in Moscow and another who “left for Ukraine”.
Asked about the shooting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday it would be up to law enforcement agencies to pursue the investigation but described it as an apparent “terrorist act” by Ukraine intended to derail peace talks.
There was no immediate response from Kyiv to a request for comment on the Russian allegations.
The shooting came a day after Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators wrapped up two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, aimed at ending the nearly 4-year-old conflict in Ukraine. The Russian delegation was led by Alekseyev’s boss, military intelligence chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov.