The war is spreading beyond the battlefield: Ukraine and Russia are hunting each other's engineers

Ukraine and Russia are increasing attacks on executives and key engineers of companies involved in the production of enemy drones, according to Fox News. In particular, journalists recall the August 4th car bombing near Ekaterinburg, which may have injured Vladimir Kuchuk, the head of the Russian drone manufacturer Ural Drone Plant. A few days earlier, Andrey Cherezov, the head of another Russian drone manufacturer, suffered three gunshot wounds in Tula. As Cameron Chell, CEO of drone company Dragonfly noted, the increase in attacks on manufacturers is due to the changing nature of warfare. As both countries compete in UV production, this makes manufacturers of new technologies an increasingly important target. When it's impossible to destroy the entire distributed infrastructure, leadership in drone production becomes a primary target. These attacks in Russia, Ukraine, and Germany [music] against the founders, executives, and engineers of defense companies and drone companies in particular are precisely because drones and these companies themselves wield such significant influence. Because drone technology evolves rapidly, with significant updates often occurring every 10 to 30 days, an attack on a key engineer, founder, or product leader creates immediate operational disruption on the battlefield, Chell said. He added that even one engineer or manager could slow down a vital weapons program for a long time and interrupt supplies to the front lines. Journalists note that German law enforcement recently detained two individuals suspected of spying on a Bavarian drone manufacturer for Russia. They were reportedly planning an attack, specifically on the head of one of these companies. This follows the assassination attempt on the CEO of the German company Rheinmetall. According to Chell, as artificial intelligence and UV autonomy advance, engineers developing these technologies will become an even more strategic target for intelligence agencies. Artificial intelligence and full autonomy are the key innovations of the next 18 months. [music] So, a potential reason we could see more targeted attacks against senior officials is that the Ukrainians possess this technological advantage. Attacking small drone companies is a relatively simple operation compared to attacks on individuals working in state-run weapons programs, he added. At the same time, he noted that Ukraine and Russia approach such operations differently. In his opinion, neither side has a tactical advantage. At the same time, such operations exert greater psychological pressure on Russia. Ukraine faces an existential threat, so they're prepared for anything. Their tactics tend to be much more direct, a direct attack down a corridor or a car bomb. Russian tactics tend to be much more organized at the state level, using old Cold War tactics, low-level contacts, extensive reconnaissance and surveillance in advance, and infiltration of other countries like Germany. The Russians have a long-standing, well-established intelligence infrastructure dating back to World War II and the Cold War, Chell noted. As a reminder, Fox News previously reported that the assassination of generals in Russia exposes a growing rift within Putin's security apparatus. It dot IT was noted that the military wants the FSB to provide personal protection against Ukrainian attacks. While the security service is unwilling to accept responsibility for the military. At the same time, the SBU [music] previously reported that Russia had also begun to escalate operations against Ukrainian soldiers using so-called honey traps. Since the beginning of 2026 alone, the SBU has reportedly thwarted over 50 Russian [music] attempts to assassinate Ukrainian soldiers using fake dates with women. >> [music]