CloseA man suspected of shooting a top military intelligence officer in Moscow has been detained, according to Russia’s security service.
Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev – an official previously linked to the Salisbury poisonings – was shot several times outside an apartment building in an alleged assassination attempt. He is currently recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that a Russian citizen named Lyubomir Korba was detained in Dubai and has been extradited to Russia, in a statement on Sunday.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister accused Ukraine of the attack, which it has denied.
It comes as the US is aiming to get a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia over the line in March despite a lack of progress on territorial concessions, according to reports.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that the Americans “want to do everything by June” in comments released on Saturday.
But attacks continued as Russia launched more than 400 drones and about 40 missiles on Saturday in strikes on Ukraine's energy sector, targeting the power grid, generation facilities, and distribution substations, Zelensky said.
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UK ‘threatens to seize’ Russia-linked shadow fleet tanker in escalation of tensions
The United Kingdom has threatened to seize a Russia-linked oil tanker in an escalation of tensions between the two countries over shadow fleets.
Military options to capture a rogue ship had been identified in discussions involving Nato allies, British defence sources told The Guardian.
The news comes weeks after the UK supported a US operation to seize a Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic.
British armed forces supported the capture of the Marinera, a vessel initially linked to Venezuela and previously known as Bella-1, as it travelled north and eastwards through the waters between Iceland and Scotland.
Days later, a defence source confirmed to The Times that options to seize further vessels were being considered, but no timeframe was given for potential missions at the time. The Special Boats Service (SBS) would likely lead the raids, it was suggested at the time.
Maira Butt reports:
UK ‘threatens to seize’ Russia-linked shadow fleet tanker
Shadow fleets are used to transport sanctioned oil around the worldAlex Croft9 February 2026 08:28
Mother and child among three killed in Russian overnight attacks
At least three people were killed, including a mother and her son, during Russia’s overnight attacks on Ukraine into Monday, authorities said.
The 10-year-old boy and his mother were killed in the attack on a residential area of the town of Bohodukhiv in the eastern Kharkiv region, the regional prosecutor's office said, after Moscow’s forces launched attacks targeting the country’s east and south.
Six people were hurt in the attack on the region, which has been a frequent target of attacks in the nearly four-year war that started with Russian invasion in 2022, it added.
A "massive" Russian drone attack on the southern port city of Odesa killed one and injured two others, regional governor Oleh Kiper said.
Residential infrastructure and a gas pipeline were also damaged, Mr Kiper added on the Telegram messaging app.
Nine people, including a 13-year-old girl, were injured in a drone attack in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, its governor, Oleksandr Hanzha, said.
The attack caused a fire in a three-storey building, destroying the roof, he added.
Alex Croft9 February 2026 07:59
Russia offered US £9tn cooperation deal, Zelensky says
Russia offered the United States a cooperation deal worth £9tn in a bid for agreement between the two countries, Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian leader said intelligence suggested Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev proposed US-Russian co-operation deals worth as much as $12 trillion (£9tn) during negotiations.
He said that such agreements between Moscow and Washington must not violate Ukraine’s constitution, on Saturday.
“Intelligence showed me the so-called ‘Dmitriev package’ that he presented in the US – it amounts to around $12tn (£9tn),” Mr Zelensky said.
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 07:33
Russia claims assassination suspects admitted they had orders from Ukraine's spy agency
Russia's Federal Security Service claimed today that two men suspected of shooting one of the country's most senior military intelligence officers had confessed that they were carrying out orders from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Ukraine has denied any involvement in Friday's attempted assassination of Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of Russia's GRU military intelligence service. Alexeyev has regained consciousness after surgery.
Russia said that the suspected shooter, a Ukrainian-born Russian citizen named by Moscow as Lyubomir Korba, had been questioned after he was extradited from Dubai. A suspected accomplice, Viktor Vasin, has also been questioned.
The FSB said in a statement that both Korba and Vasin had "confessed their guilt" and given details of the shooting which they said was "committed on behalf of the Security Service of Ukraine”.
The FSB said Korba was recruited by the SBU in August 2025 in Ternopil, western Ukraine, underwent training in Kyiv and was paid monthly in crypto-currency. For killing Alexeyev, Korba was promised $30,000 by the SBU, the FSB said.
The FSB said Polish intelligence was involved in his recruitment but authorities in Warsaw are yet to comment.
Russia hasn't provided any evidence to support its claims.
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 07:06
Watch: Russian strike on Odesa kills one and damages residential building
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 06:45
Russia's FSB says Ukraine ordered attempt on Russian general's life and Poland helped
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said the attempted assassination of General Vladimir Alexeyev was ordered by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Interfax news agency reported.
The FSB said that Polish intelligence had been involved in the recruitment of the shooter.
The FSB did not provide any evidence to back its claims.
A Ukrainian-born Russian citizen has been extradited to Moscow from Dubai on suspicion of gravely injuring Alexeyev, Russian security officials said on Sunday.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attempted assassination.
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 06:34
Shooting of Putin's general in Moscow is a 'serious blow', says ex-FSB
After Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev, deputy head of Russia's vast GRU military intelligence service, was shot three times on Friday, questions have been raised over the safety of Russian special services.
The GRU, like the FSB, is a vast and powerful Russian intelligence agency that includes sleeper agents abroad, special forces units and advanced cyber capabilities.
Jailed Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who has repeatedly scolded Russian generals for what he says is the shambolic prosecution of the war, praised Alexeyev's energy and courage but said the attack was a significant setback.
“This is a serious blow to our special services," Girkin, himself a former FSB officer, said on Telegram.
Alexeyev came to national prominence in June 2023 when he was shown trying to calm down Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, during a failed mutiny.
In a video, Alexeyev listened as Prigozhin said he had come to take then-defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's top general, Valery Gerasimov.
“Take them then," Alexeyev said with a chuckle. The mutiny fizzled and Prigozhin died in a plane crash two months later.
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 06:09
Russia accuses Ukraine's intelligence of assassinating Putin's general
Russian officials have accused Ukrainian intelligence services of aiding the assassination of Moscow’s top general Vladimir Alekseyev.
Russia’s investigative committee and Federal Security Service (FSB) said they have identified and arrested a suspect who “arrived in Moscow in late December last year on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services to commit a terrorist attack”.
The top Russian agencies did not provide further details to support their claim.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha on Friday had already stated that Kyiv has nothing to do with the assassination attempt on Alekseyev.
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 05:22
One killed as Russia attacks Odesa overnight
At least one person was killed after Russian forces carried out a series of attacks overnight, officials said, targeting various cities with reported missile and drone attacks.
Odesa city military administration head Serhiy Lysak said a fire broke out on the roof of a multi-story building, and a gas pipeline was damaged in the attack. Car fires were also reported in the city.
The southern port city was subject to a large-scale drone attack and “residential infrastructure” in the city was also damaged.
At least one person was killed as a result of the drone strike he said.
Russian drones attacked Odesa around 12.30am, Ukraine’s Air Force and multiple explosions were heard, public broadcaster Suspilne said.
Arpan Rai9 February 2026 05:03
Ukraine sanctions foreign suppliers of components for Russian missiles
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was imposing sanctions on some foreign manufacturers of components for Russian drones and missiles used against Ukraine.
"Producing this weaponry would be impossible without critical foreign components, which the Russians continue to obtain by circumventing sanctions," Zelensky said on X.
"We are introducing new sanctions precisely against such companies – component suppliers, as well as missile and drone manufacturers. I have signed the relevant decisions."
According to two decrees published by the Ukrainian presidency, the targets of the sanctions include several Chinese companies as well as companies from the former Soviet Union, the United Arab Emirates and Panama.
