Russian drone factory director seriously injured in car explosion

The director of a factory supplying drones to the Russian military was badly wounded when his car exploded, news reports said Wednesday, marking the second attack in a week on Russian drone makers. The state Tass and RIA Novosti agencies said that Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized in grave condition following the explosion late Tuesday in Bolshoy Istok just outside Yekaterinburg, about 870 miles east of Moscow. The driver of the car was killed in the explosion, the Reuters news agency reported.\u00a0Images published on Russian social media channels purported to show the burned out chassis of Tkachuk\u0027s Mercedes, surrounded by charred debris.Tass and RIA Novosti didn\u0027t immediately give details of the explosion or say who could be responsible. There was no immediate comment from the authorities.Tkachuk headed the Uraldronzavod factory that manufactures Upyr (Russian for "Ghoul") drones. Tkachuk, a small-scale entrepreneur, set up a team of engineers that developed the Upyr and organized its production near Yekaterinburg, Russia\u0027s fourth-largest city, and a key industrial hub in the Ural Mountains The Upyr, a cheap and simple first-person view drone, was hailed by troops for the protection it offers against jamming. Tkachuk, who founded the firm in 2023, has been pictured showcasing his drones to President Vladimir Putin.Last week, the director and founder of a different Russian drone manufacturer was wounded in a shooting, in what prosecutors described as an "attempted murder."Ukraine made no immediate comment on this latest attack.The car explosion was reported one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video purporting to show a civilian being chased and attacked by a Russian drone in the city of Kherson. In a\u00a0social media post\u00a0on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said the world "must see" the footage that he said shows Russia\u0027s soldiers "take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians."Moscow blames Kyiv for targeted attacksRussian authorities have blamed Kyiv for a series of bombings and other attacks against senior military officials after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.The explosion followed Saturday\u0027s deadly bombing at an upscale Moscow restaurant, which the Russian Embassy in Rome blamed on Ukraine, describing it as an attempt to intimidate the Italian community in Russia. It said in a statement Monday that the attack on the Balzi Rossi restaurant killed five and injured 19. The Russian Foreign Ministry reposted the embassy statement without comment, and Russia\u0027s security agencies haven\u0027t named the suspected culprits. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has described the bombing as a "brutal terrorist act," but did not say who was responsible. Several Russian media outlets claimed the bombing targeted a Russian general who was celebrating his birthday at the restaurant. Some claimed that the general was Col.-Gen. Alexander Chaiko, who led the troops that made a botched attempt to storm the Ukrainian capital in 2022 and recently was appointed the chief of Russia\u0027s aerospace forces. The claims could not be independently verified.

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