Attempted murder of Russian general barely halts trilateral talks for weeks

Sources indicate the Feb. 6 shooting caused the negotiation process to "stall for weeks," though diplomatic channels were eventually unblocked. At the time of the attack, the Russian delegation was headed by the chief of the GRU, Igor Kostyukov.

The publication noted that despite some progress, the diplomatic process — which began in Abu Dhabi and continued in Geneva — remains highly volatile and fragile.

Moscow attack and the blame game

An unidentified gunman attempted to assassinate Lieutenant General Alekseyev in Moscow on Feb. 6. The Russian commander survived but remains in an intensive care unit in critical condition.

Russia’s Investigative Committee immediately blamed Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for the attack, claiming they detained two suspects who allegedly confessed.

Ukraine completely denied any involvement in the assassination attempt, officially stating that Kyiv had absolutely nothing to do with the attack.

Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) officially designates Alekseyev as a war criminal. He is directly responsible for orchestrating brutal strikes on civilian targets across Ukraine and organizing the sham "referendum" in the occupied Kherson Oblast.

Furthermore, Denys Prokopenko, commander of the Azov National Guard's 1st Brigade, revealed that Alekseyev was the senior Russian representative in the May 2022 negotiations in Mariupol regarding the exit of the Azovstal defenders.

However, the hit may have been an internal purge. The Washington Post earlier reported that Moscow itself might be behind the assassination attempt, linking the violent incident to Alekseyev's prominent role in suppressing the mutiny led by Wagner mercenaries leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.