MOSCOW — The director of a factory supplying drones to the Russian military was badly wounded when his car exploded, reports BritPanorama.
The state Tass and RIA Novosti agencies said that Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized in grave condition following the explosion late Tuesday in Bolshoy Istok just outside Yekaterinburg, 1,400 kilometers (about 870 miles) east of Moscow. It didn’t immediately provide details of the explosion or specify who might be responsible. There was no immediate comment from the authorities.
Tkachuk headed the Uraldronzavod factory that manufactures Upyr (Russian for Ghoul) drones. A small-scale entrepreneur, he set up a team of engineers that developed the Upyr and organized its production near Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city and a key industrial hub in the Ural Mountains.
The Upyr, a cheap and simple first-person view drone, has been acclaimed by troops for the protection it offers against jamming.
Russian authorities have accused Kyiv of being responsible for a series of bombings and attacks against senior military officials since Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine began in February 2022.
The incident follows Saturday’s deadly bombing at an upscale Moscow restaurant, which the Russian Embassy in Rome attributed to Ukraine, claiming it was intended to intimidate the Italian community in Russia. This attack on the Balzi Rossi restaurant resulted in five deaths and 19 injuries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reposted the embassy’s statement without additional commentary, and Russia’s security agencies have not disclosed information about the suspected culprits. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin referred to the bombing as a “brutal terrorist act,” yet did not designate who was responsible.
Several Russian media sources suggested that the bombing targeted a Russian general celebrating his birthday at the restaurant. Some reports focused on Col.-Gen. Alexander Chaiko, who recently led troops in a failed attempt to capture Kyiv in 2022 and was appointed chief of Russia’s aerospace forces, although these claims remain unverified.
