This is suspected to be the second assassination attempt on a Russian defense sector official in recent days.
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35-year-old V. Tkačiukas heads the drone manufacturing company “Uraldronzavod” based in Yekaterinburg.
The Russian newspaper “Kommersant” reported that his Mercedes car exploded in the village of Bolshoy Istok, located near Yekaterinburg.
The circumstances of the incident and the exact timing are currently unclear.
“Vladimir Tkačiukas was injured in the car explosion. He is being treated in intensive care, his condition is serious, doctors are fighting for his life,” the Russian state news agency TASS quoted a source in the emergency services.
Photos posted on Russian social media channels are believed to show V. Tkačiukas’s burned car surrounded by charred debris.
“Uraldronzavod” is best known for the FPV drones “Upyr,” which Russia uses on the battlefield in Ukraine.
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V. Tkačiukas, who founded the company in 2023, was previously recorded presenting his drones to President Vladimir Putin.
He is also known as one of the founders of the website and Telegram channel “Obsessed with War” – one of the main Russian pro-war sources. This channel has not yet reported on the assassination attempt.
Since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has targeted many Russian defense and military figures.
Last week, the director and founder of another Russian drone factory was injured in a shooting incident. Prosecutors have classified this event as an “attempted murder.”
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Ukraine has not yet commented on the latest attack.
