UPDATE 2 - Senior Russian general shot by unidentified individual in Moscow

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER & BACKGROUND; REVISES DECK & LEDE

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - A senior Russian general was on Friday shot by an unidentified individual in the capital Moscow, the Investigative Committee said.

Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement on Telegram that several shots were fired at Lt. Gen. Vladimir Alekseyev at a residential building in the capital. She said the assailant then fled the scene.

A criminal case of attempted murder and illegal trafficking of firearms has been opened over the incident that took place in northwestern Moscow.

"Investigators and forensic experts from the Moscow Investigative Committee are currently working at the scene, reviewing CCTV footage, and interviewing eyewitnesses," she added.

Petrenko added that authorities are working to identify the person or persons involved in the shooting.

Alekseyev has served as the first deputy head of the General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate since 2011.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Ukraine of being behind the shooting, defining it as a "terrorist act."

At a press conference following talks with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ignazio Cassis and Secretary-General Feridun Sinirlioglu, Lavrov claimed that the attack confirmed Ukraine's "focus on constant provocations" aimed at disrupting peace negotiations to end the nearly four-year war.

He also claimed that the shooting proved Kyiv is willing to "do anything to convince its Western sponsors to keep up with the US in its efforts to derail them from achieving a fair settlement."

Ukrainian authorities have yet to comment on the accusations or the incident.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, which will enter its fifth year later this month, several top Russian officers have been killed, with Moscow accusing Kyiv. Ukraine has taken responsibility in some cases.

Most recently, a senior Russian military official, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, was killed in a car explosion in Moscow in December.