Russian drone boss who briefed Putin is fighting for life after car bomb near Ekaterinburg
Vladimir Tkachuk, CEO of the sanctioned drone manufacturer Uraldronzavod, was pulled from a burning Mercedes and placed in intensive care after an explosion near Ekaterinburg. It is the second violent attack on a figure in Russia's drone industry in a week.
The attack
A bomb planted under a Mercedes exploded near the Ural city of Ekaterinburg late Tuesday, critically injuring Vladimir Tkachuk, the CEO of drone manufacturer Uraldronzavod. Russian emergency services told the state news agency Tass on Wednesday that Tkachuk was in intensive care and doctors were struggling to save his life. His bodyguard died at the scene. Images circulating on social media showed the charred wreckage of the vehicle with bloodstains on the pavement nearby.
Tkachuk is in intensive care in a grave condition and doctors are fighting to save his life.
Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into attempted murder, though officials have not publicly identified a suspect or confirmed the cause. Telegram channels speculated that an explosive device had been placed beneath the car.
Who Vladimir Tkachuk is
Tkachuk is the founder and CEO of Uraldronzavod, a private company established in 2022 after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Based in Ekaterinburg, it produces the Upyr ("Ghoul"), a low-cost first-person-view kamikaze drone manufactured with 3D-printing technology and widely used by Russian forces in Ukraine. The European Union has noted that the firm and its director "attracted the attention of President Putin himself" and receive "unreserved support" from the Russian defence ministry. Both the EU and the United States have placed Uraldronzavod and Tkachuk under sanctions for supporting Russia's war effort.
In September 2024 Tkachuk presented the Upyr drone directly to Vladimir Putin during a factory visit. He also founded the pro-war Telegram channel "Obsessed with War," which has more than 500,000 followers and raises funds and equipment for frontline soldiers.
A pattern of targeted attacks
The explosion is the latest in a series of attacks on figures tied to Russia's military-industrial complex. A week earlier, Andrey Cherezov, the founder and director of another drone company producing unmanned aircraft for the Russian army, was shot and wounded in the city of Tula. Investigators described that incident as attempted murder.
- Tkachuk presents the Upyr drone to Vladimir Putin
- Drone manufacturer Andrey Cherezov shot and wounded in Tula
- Explosion outside Moscow restaurant kills 3; suspected target is Col Gen Aleksandr Chayko
- Vladimir Tkachuk critically injured in car explosion near Ekaterinburg
Three days before the Ekaterinburg blast, a homemade explosive device detonated outside an upmarket restaurant in central Moscow, killing three people and wounding about twenty others. The gathering was reportedly a private celebration for Colonel General Aleksandr Chayko, commander of Russia's Aerospace Forces, attended by senior FSB officers, generals, and government deputies. Chayko's son-in-law, Daniil Peredrya, was among the dead, the independent outlet Agentstvo reported citing government records.
Broader context
Moscow routinely blames Kyiv for bombings and other attacks targeting high-ranking military and defence-industry officials. Ukraine's military intelligence agency has claimed responsibility for some of these operations. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, dozens of senior Russian military officers and Moscow-installed officials have been targeted in assassinations or attempted assassinations.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing of Tkachuk's vehicle, but Russian authorities are likely to point to Ukraine. The incident underscores the reach of clandestine operations deep inside Russian territory and the expanding frontier of a shadow war that now regularly strikes beyond the battlefield.
