On 9/2, the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) released images of Zinaida Serebritskaya, identified as a co-conspirator in the assassination attempt on Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy head of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU).
The FSB's investigation report, accompanied by portraits and activity videos of Serebritskaya, revealed she was a former Ukrainian citizen who lived in the Lugansk region and became a naturalized Russian citizen in 2000. From 2023 to 2025, Serebritskaya managed a grocery store in Moskva.
"From 11/12/2025, the suspect rented apartment 337, Block 1, building 24, on Volokolamsk street in Moskva," FSB investigators wrote in the report. This building was also general Alekseyev's residence; he survived the assassination attempt on 6/2.
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Zinaida Serebritskaya, a co-conspirator in the assassination attempt on Russian intelligence general Vladimir Alekseyev, is believed to have fled to Ukraine. *Photo: FSB*
The FSB identified Serebritskaya as the person who provided the electronic key to the building to suspect Lyubomir Korba, allowing him to enter through the main door and ambush the 64-year-old general near the elevator. Korba used a silenced pistol to shoot Alekseyev.
General Alekseyev, a graduate of the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, seemingly anticipated the assassin's intent. He quickly closed in, preventing the suspect from aiming at his head, according to military correspondent Alexander Kots of Komsomolskaya Pravda.
"He fought back against the assassin. His quick reflexes saved Alekseyev's life. His wife then applied a tourniquet to his leg to stop the bleeding and used available items to seal the abdominal wounds while awaiting emergency medical attention," Kots stated.
General Alekseyev was hit by a total of three shots: two in the abdomen and one in the leg. He underwent surgery in the hospital, is out of critical danger, conscious, and able to converse, but his condition remains serious.
Korba then discarded the weapon and attempted to flee Russia but was discovered and arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Authorities extradited the suspect to Russia on 8/2. Authorities arrested another co-conspirator, Viktor Vasin, a Russian citizen born in 1959, in Moskva.
Serebritskaya, born in 1971, is believed to have fled to Ukraine. The FSB discovered she boarded a flight from Moskva to Istanbul, Turkey, at 1:10 AM on 5/2, one day before the incident.
RIA Novosti quoted a resident of Khorosheye village in Lugansk, Serebritskaya's hometown, who stated the suspect "might have been tempted by money." Another Khorosheye resident mentioned Serebritskaya returned to her hometown in 2024 to sell an 86 square meter house, remarking that the woman "only thought about making money."
The assassination attempt on general Alekseyev nearly cost Russia an "intelligence brain" in the conflict in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called it a "terrorist act" orchestrated by Kiev to disrupt peace negotiations, while Ukrainian officials denied the accusation, asserting no involvement in the incident.
By Thanh Danh (According to RIA, Zvezda)
