Mikhail Shatsky, who was responsible for developing advanced drones and overseeing the modernization of guided missiles, was found in the Kuzminsky Forest Park southeast of the Russian capital on Thursday.
The Ukrainian Pravda news outlet reported that Shatsky's killing was part of a “special operation” conducted by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR).
Anti-Kremlin journalist Alexander Nevzorov shared graphic images on Telegram, claiming HUR “eliminated a particularly dangerous criminal.”
A Ukrainian military source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Shatsky’s death was likely the work of Ukrainian intelligence.
“Anyone involved in the Russian military-industrial complex and supporting aggression in Ukraine is a legitimate target of the Defense Forces,” the source said.
Russia’s Investigative Committee and police have yet to comment, and the claims remain unverified by independent sources.
This incident comes just days after the death of Sergei Yevsyukov, a prison chief in Russian-occupied Olenivka, who died in a car bomb attack.
Yevsyukov was accused by Ukraine of involvement in the deaths of over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war during a missile attack in July 2022.
