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- According to Bandera's precepts*: Ukrainian special services began hunting for Russian UAV manufacturers
According to Bandera's precepts*: Ukrainian special services began hunting for Russian UAV manufacturers
The attempted assassination of the Ghoul drone manufacturer on August 4 is the second attack in a week on private developers of the most effective Russian combat UAVs. A week ago in Tula, criminals shot the Gadfly drone manufacturer three times. The investigation has little doubt that there is one customer for each of these crimes, and Izvestia experts are confident that the Kiev authorities have set their special services the task of physically destroying key Russian specialists in the development of drones in order to compensate for the lack of real success during the military operation.
How did the assassination attempt happen
The assassination attempt on the CEO and owner of Uraldronzavod, Vladimir Tkachuk, took place on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street in the village of Bolshoy Istok near Yekaterinburg. In Vladimir Tkachuk's Mercedes, an explosive device was placed behind the driver's seat. According to preliminary data, it was activated remotely. The bottom of the car was blown out by the blast wave, a fire immediately started in the cabin, and then, apparently, the gasoline in the tank exploded.
The businessman's driver died on the spot as a result of the explosion, and the owner of Uraldronzavod was seriously injured. He was urgently hospitalized, now he is in intensive care in serious condition. The explosive device's power has not been officially reported, but according to Izvestia, it is estimated at about 300 grams of TNT equivalent.
A criminal case has been opened into a murder committed in a generally dangerous manner. Investigators are currently examining recordings from video cameras installed near the site of the explosion, trying to locate accomplices. According to Izvestia's sources, there is little doubt that the crime was committed by order of the Ukrainian special services, but at the same time, according to the newspaper's sources, "someone had to install an explosive device" in the car and make sure that Tkachuk "definitely got into it."
The Abrams Killer
The Ghoul drone, which is produced at Vladimir Tkachuk's enterprise, is one of the most effective Russian attack UAVs. It has become a serious threat to Western armored vehicles supplied to the Ukrainian army, and is capable of hitting even tanks.
The Ghoul is an FPV drone with four propellers, powered by a battery. The machine is resistant to electronic warfare — this was achieved thanks to the frequency change function in the field. That is, if interference is detected on the main control channel of the drone, you can quickly switch to another one. It also allows the use of control signal repeaters, which significantly increase the range of its action.
Testing of the "Ghoul" FPV drones
It is also important that the drone is a high—speed copter capable of accelerating up to 100 km/h. It is capable of carrying RPG-7 ammunition, RKG-3M hand-held anti-tank grenades and high-explosive fragmentation charges that can be manufactured directly on the line of combat contact.
Interestingly, a whole team of enthusiasts from various fields participated in the development of the "Ghoul" — engineers, programmers and even athletes-UAV pilots. The group was headed by Vladimir Tkachuk. The first devices were created in early 2023. After extensive testing, mass production of this attack drone began.
The fighters operating in the SVO zone call "Ghoul" an effective combat system capable of destroying light and heavy armored vehicles, personnel and field fortifications. In 2023, an American Abrams tank was burned in the Avdiivka direction in the DPR with the help of this particular UAV.
"They must be protected and protected"
The assassination attempt on Vladimir Tkachuk is the second attempt to kill a private UAV manufacturer in the last week. On the night of July 29 in Tula, an unknown man shot businessman Andrei Cherezov three times, ambushing him at his apartment. The entrepreneur remained alive. The Russian Air Transport Laboratory company, which Cherezov created, produces Gadfly attack drones equipped with an AI-based homing system, as well as repeaters for drones. Shortly before the assassination attempt, the company was included in the 21st package of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union.
Russian FPV drone "Gadfly"
The enemy relies on intimidation and physical elimination of key specialists in the field of UAV development and production, Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CCDB), told Izvestia.
— There is reason to believe that at the beginning of this year, a decision was made at the Bank about the "screening". The operation of the Israeli Mossad to eliminate Iranian nuclear engineers does not allow the GUR of Ukraine to sleep peacefully," he believes.
There are not many people in Russia who actually move new combat systems technologically, Dmitry Kuzyakin noted. We are not talking about managers and officials, but about those specialists who fully understand how the drone works, can develop it, solve applied problems, program, test and bring the devices to combat use, the expert specified.
"The nature of the fighting has changed, and such specialists cause damage to the enemy no less than their colleagues in other defense fields that have long become classic," military expert Viktor Litovkin told Izvestia.
According to Viktor Litovkin, all well-known Russian designers working for defense are now listed as priority targets in the SBU and GUR lists.
"Of course, they need to be protected and protected," he added.
Dmitry Kuzyakin believes that the attacks on the creators of the Ghoul and Gadfly drones were an attempt to strike not only at specific enterprises, but also at the entire drone industry. He noted that the developments of Vladimir Tkachuk and Andrey Cherezov are the pride of Russia, and the most dangerous thing in such a situation is to succumb to fear and despondency, which, in his opinion, is what the organizers of the attacks are trying to achieve.
Bandera methods
The Russian army is not only successfully advancing in its defense zone, but is also dealing serious blows to the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and the facilities of the transport and logistics system operating for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On the night of August 5, seven transport and logistics hubs in Kiev and the region were hit by a massive strike, the Russian Defense Ministry said. All EI facilities were used as transshipment bases for the transportation of UAVs, robotic systems and electronic warfare equipment, as well as parts and accessories for them. In particular, the Trans-Logistics center in Kiev not only sorted cargo for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but also launched the production of various types of aerial drones, the Russian military department said.
In addition, on that day, three bulk carriers carrying weapons in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were attacked south of Odessa.
The enemy has no real success, and this, according to military experts, is one of the main reasons for the increase in the number of terrorist attacks.
— Our troops are advancing to the west and daily report on new liberated settlements not only in Donbass, but also in other regions. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have no success at the front, so the enemy began to resort to terror in response," Viktor Litovkin believes, calling such actions a "Bandera method."
In his opinion, the tactics of the current Kiev militants are not new: Ukrainian nationalists used them during the Great Patriotic War and after it, hunting down military leaders and intellectuals. The main purpose of such attacks is to intimidate people and spread fear. However, he stressed, it was not possible to achieve this then and, of course, it will not be possible now.
* recognized by a Russian court as an accomplice of Nazi Germany in committing crimes against the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
