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The head of a Russian drone producer was hospitalised after a car bombing, the latest sign of growing blowback from President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Vladimir Tkachuk, a prominent pro-war blogger and director of manufacturer Uraldronzavod, was in critical condition after the bombing in a small town outside Ekaterinburg, an industrial city in the Ural Mountains, state newswire Tass reported on Wednesday.
The assassination attempt on Tkachuk, whose company produces the Upyr fibre-optic drones that Russia’s army uses on the front lines, is the latest in a string of attacks deep behind enemy lines on prominent figures in the war effort.
Tkachuk’s driver died in the attack, according to local media, which published photos that showed all but the car’s frame had been destroyed. Fellow bloggers said the attack took place on Tuesday, adding that Tkachuk was expected to make a full recovery.
In a separate blast on Saturday, five people died and 21 were injured after a bombing at a private event at an Italian restaurant in Moscow.
Russian exiled independent media and pro-war bloggers have speculated that Saturday’s attack targeted Alexander Chaiko, the head of Russia’s aerospace forces, after his daughter and son-in-law were reportedly hurt. It remains unclear whether the general attended the party or was the target of the bombing.
Ukraine has not taken credit for either of the recent attacks and its intelligence services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The assassination of top military officers has become so common that Putin extended security measures for 10 senior military officers late last year, according to a person close to European intelligence.
Tkachuk is a leading figure in Russia’s “people’s military-industrial complex” of small-scale start-ups that have produced drones and other equipment for the army since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He showed off a model of the Upyr, named after a demon from Slavic folklore, to Putin in 2024.
Tkachuk’s blog has more than 660,000 followers on social media app Telegram. The channel posted on Wednesday that the former real estate agent was in a stable condition and said its work would continue as before, using a slur for Ukrainians.
In an interview on the defence ministry’s television channel after he met Putin, Tkachuk said he had been inspired to make drones by Vladlen Tatarsky, another military blogger, who was himself killed in a Ukrainian bombing in 2023.
The Upyr appears to be largely made with 3D printers, according to videos of its production, though Tkachuk has said that 60 per cent of the components it uses are Russian.
The 45cm drone can carry a 10kg package of explosives at a range of “tens of kilometres”, the company said in January. Russia’s armed forces reportedly use them to strike Ukrainian positions, supply frontline units and intercept Ukrainian heavy bomber drones.
Additional reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv
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