The director of a factory that produces drones for the Russian military was critically injured in a car explosion, according to state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti.
Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized in grave condition following the blast late Tuesday in Bolshoy Istok, a settlement near Yekaterinburg. The cause of the explosion and responsibility remain unclear, and authorities have not issued immediate comments.
Tkachuk leads the Uraldronzavod factory, which manufactures the Upyr, a first-person view drone described as simple and inexpensive. Troops have reportedly praised the Upyr for its resistance to jamming. Tkachuk, previously a small-scale entrepreneur, assembled a team of engineers to develop and produce the drone in the industrial hub of the Ural Mountains.
This incident follows a series of alleged attacks by Kyiv targeting Russian military officials. Russian authorities have attributed numerous bombings and other assaults to Ukraine since the commencement of hostilities in February 2022.
On Saturday, a bombing at an upscale Moscow restaurant killed five people and injured 19. The Russian Embassy in Rome described the attack on the Balzi Rossi restaurant as an attempt to intimidate the Italian community in Russia. Russian security agencies have not named suspects, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin characterized the bombing as a "brutal terrorist act" without assigning blame. Some Russian media outlets have claimed the restaurant bombing targeted a general, with some reports suggesting it was Col.-Gen. Alexander Chaiko, who led forces in a failed attempt to capture Kyiv in 2022 and was recently appointed chief of Russia’s aerospace forces. These claims have not been independently verified.