Putin’s general, who was shot on street in assassination attempt was behind Salisbury poisoning

General Vladimir Alekseyev, a key ally of Vladimir Putin, is believed to have a hand in several international incidents, including the 2018 Salisbury poisoning.

A Russian general shot dead outside Moscow today has been identified as being behind the Salisbury poisoning that killed a British citizen, it has been reported.

Putin ally Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, 64, was shot “three times in the chest” in broad daylight at 7 a.m. today on the Volokolamsk highway northwest of the Russian capital. The Kremlin spy was leaving his apartment on the 24th floor when he was shot by an assailant, who fled the scene and was taken to hospital.

In addition to being a protégé of the Russian dictator and playing a key role in Ukraine, spy chief Alekseyev is believed to be behind the deadly Salisbury poisoning targeting two former ghosts in 2018, which led to the tragic death of Don Sturgess.

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Alekseyev is a decorated war hero in Russia (Image: Social Media/East2West News)

According to Russian media outlets, Alekseyev was responsible for gathering intelligence for bombings in Ukraine and organising “referendums” in areas held by Putin’s forces. Locals were stunned by the shooting, with one bystander describing the moment he heard screams of “help”.

He said, “I heard the gunshot and heard screams of ‘help’. I went outside and he was lying covered in blood, and a neighbor was shouting, ‘Call an ambulance, he’s been shot.’

It has been reported that the general helped hatch the plan in which two Russian operatives travelled to Britain and attempted to assassinate Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. British investigators found Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov spreading the military-grade chemical weapon Novichok on the doorknob of the pair’s Salisbury home.

Alekseyev is also sanctioned for attempting to interfere in the 2016 US elections (Image: MoD Russia East2west News)

The weapon, which was placed in a perfume bottle, was later recovered by Charles Rowley, who he believed was giving a welcome gift to his partner, Ms Sturgess, before both of them became unwell in Amesbury. Ms Sturgess died from exposure, while Mr Rowley recovered, and both Skripals also later recovered from their assassination attempts.

Alekseyev was accused by the UK and EU of pulling the strings of operations in Russia and was sanctioned by the US in 2016 after being accused of overseeing “malicious cyber activities” during the US presidential election. He was welcomed to Russia by Putin, who awarded the international threat the Hero of the Russian Federation award for “courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty”.

Don Sturgess died after exposure to Novichok (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

Alekseyev himself may now be the victim of an assassination attempt, with Russian authorities investigating the incident as a possible Ukrainian or internal attack. Svetlana Petrenko of Russia’s Investigative Committee said they had opened an investigation into the attempted murder, adding, “The victim has been admitted to a city hospital.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had been briefed on the shooting, adding, “We wish first of all that the general survives and recovers. We hope that will be the case.”