Car Bomb Critically Injures Russian Drone Boss Vladimir Tkachuk, Killing 1 as Drone War Targets Spread
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 9
Car Bomb Critically Injures Russian Drone Boss Vladimir Tkachuk, Killing 1 as Drone War Targets Spread
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 9
Summary
Aug. 4's car bombing near Yekaterinburg critically injured Vladimir Tkachuk, head of Russian drone maker Uraldronzavod, and killed his driver, according to TASS and AP.
Uraldronzavod produces the Upyr first-person-view attack drone used by Russian forces, making Tkachuk part of a small pool of executives and engineers whose removal can quickly disrupt battlefield supply and development.
Days earlier, another Russian drone company head, Andrei Cherezov, was shot three times in Tula in an apparent assassination attempt; Russian authorities have not publicly blamed Ukraine for either attack.
Germany has also arrested two suspected operatives accused of spying on a Bavarian drone manufacturer for Russian intelligence, underscoring experts' view that drone leaders and engineers are becoming a new front in the war.