The director of a factory that produces drones for the Russian military was severely injured, and his driver killed, when the car they were in exploded, state news agencies reported. 

Vladimir Tkachuk was hospitalized in grave condition after the blast, which occurred about 870 miles east of Moscow. 

Tkachuk was director of the Uraldronzavod factory that manufactures Upyr (Russian for Ghoul) drones, the Associated Press reported. He was a small-scale entrepreneur who set up a team of engineers to develop the Upyr and coordinated the manufacturing operations near Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city and a key industrial hub in the Ural Mountains. 

The drone is a cheap, easy-to-use, first-person drone that Russian troops cheered for the protection it offers against jamming. In September 2024, Tkachuk was seen in a photo presenting his designs to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a display of military drones in St. Petersburg.