Ukrainian intelligence services tried to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin with a "kamikaze" drone last Sunday, according to a report published on Wednesday by German newspaper Bild.
The report alleges that a long-range Ukraine-made UJ-22 drone packed with explosives took off from an airbase in eastern Ukraine on Sunday afternoon. Its target was an industrial park in Rudnevo, just east of Moscow, which Putin was scheduled to visit later that day.
According to a Ukrainian activist believed to have close ties to Kyiv's intelligence services, the drone successfully evaded Russia's air defences only to crash in a nearby village.
"Last week, our intelligence officers received information about Putin's trip to the industrial park in Rudnevo," activist Yuriy Romanenko told Bild. "Our kamikaze drone took off and flew through all the air defences of the Russian Federation and crashed not far from the industrial park."
Speaking to Bild, Russian-born journalist and Eastern Europe political analyst Sergei Sumlenny said: "It is clear that a precision strike against Russia's head of state with a kamikaze drone is an almost impossible action. But the very fact that such a drone is advancing to a place where Putin is planning to stay is a slap in the face for the Russian dictator."
Mission impossible?
In its report, Bild alleged that the drone carried up to 30 M112 C4 explosives, each of which weighs 570 grams. M112 demolition charges are routinely used by combat engineers in the US, British, and Canadian Army.
In an apparent confirmation of Bild's report, early on Monday morning Mash – a Russian online newspaper – published pictures of a drone closely matching Bild's description which had crashed in the village of Vorovsky, just east of Moscow.
"A drone packed with explosives, similar to the Ukrainian UJ-22 Airborne, fell in Vorovsky village near Noginsk near Moscow," Mash reported. "According to our information, the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) was loaded with Canadian explosive charges M112."
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It added: "A three-meter UAV weighing about 85 kilogrammes crashed from the sky, catching on trees, on Sunday afternoon. Its maximum speed is up to 180 km/h, the flight range is about 800 km. In theory, it could have flown from the territory of Ukraine."
"Locals were the first to find the wreckage and called the special services. Among the wreckage of the UJ-22 are Canadian 1.25-pound explosive charges M112 with C4 plastic explosives."
Russian state media has not reported on the alleged assassination attempt. However, on Thursday morning Russian state news agency TASS confirmed that Putin is scheduled to visit Rudnevo industrial park later in the day. Ironically, he is set to "hold a meeting on development of unmanned aviation".
It is currently unknown whether Putin visited the industrial park at the time of the alleged assassination attempt.
