Car bomb kills drone maker's driver and critically injures company head near Yekaterinburg

A bomb hidden under a Mercedes driven by Vladimir Tkachuk, chief of the Uraldronzavod drone factory, exploded near Yekaterinburg, killing the driver on the spot and leaving Tkachuk in intensive care. State news agency one outlet cited emergency services confirming his critical condition. The incident, reported a day after it occurred, is part of a series of targeted attacks tied to Russia's war effort in Ukraine.

Tkachuk's company manufactures the "Vampire" first-person drones, which have been widely deployed on the front lines, and he runs a Telegram channel that raises funds for the military. Earlier in the week, another drone developer, Andrei Cherezov, was shot and wounded, underscoring the heightened risk to the sector. The bombing was reported shortly after President Vladimir Putin appointed a commander for the newly formed Unmanned Systems Forces.