Vladimir Tkachuk, the CEO of UralDronZavod (lit. “Ural Drone Plant”), was wounded in an assassination attempt, according to a report by Yekaterinburg-based outlet 66.ru, citing local emergency services. Tkachuk’s Mercedes was blown up in the village of Bolshoy Istok, near Yekaterinburg. He was hospitalized in serious condition.
The Russian state-controlled news agency TASS also reported the assassination attempt on Tkachuk.
“He is in intensive care in serious condition. Doctors are fighting for his life,” a source in the emergency services told the state news agency.
The Russian authorities have launched a criminal case based on charges of “murder committed in a generally dangerous manner,” which in Russian legal practice is often used when an attack, such as a bombing, could endanger bystanders as well as the intended target.
UralDronZavod, based in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Region, produces Upyr (lit. “Ghoul”) FPV drones used in the war against Ukraine. As The Insider previously reported, Tkachuk began developing a military drone in 2020. In 2022 and 2023, he and his associates used donations to build a workshop, with TASS calling Tkachuk’s project a “Russian startup of the ‘special military operation’ period.”
In less than a full year of operations in 2023, UralDronZavod reported revenue of 3.6 million rubles and even ended the year with a small profit.
Judging by production videos published by Tkachuk and Russian military bloggers, much of the Upyr’s frame is made on a 3D printer. Tkachuk claimed that by March 2024, the drone was 60% assembled from Russian-made parts. UralDronZavod was placed under European Union sanctions in December 2024.
The attack was the second in recent weeks targeting a Russian drone maker. On July 29, Andrei Cherezov, developer of the Ovod FPV drones, also used in the war in Ukraine, was shot in the entrance of a residential building in Tula, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee. Cherezov was wounded.
