Mikhail Shatsky, a Russian expert involved in modernizing missiles launched against Ukraine, was shot dead near Moscow, a Defense Forces source told the Kyiv Independent on Dec. 12.
His death was likely orchestrated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), the source claimed.
Shatsky was deputy general designer and head of the software department at the Moscow-based Experimental Design Bureau Mars and reportedly oversaw the modernization of Kh-59 and Kh-69 cruise missiles.
The Experimental Design Bureau Mars, owned by the state-owned conglomerate Rosatom, focuses on the development and manufacturing of onboard systems for automatic control and navigation in aircraft and spacecraft.
According to the source, Shatsky was seen as the main proponent of incorporating AI technology into Russian drones, aircraft, and spacecraft.
Shatsky's death was previously reported by Ukrainian-Russian anti-Kremlin journalist Alexander Nevzorov, who wrote on his Telegram channel that HUR "eliminated a particularly dangerous criminal."
Nevzorov shared photos of a person resembling Shatsky lying dead in the snow. The man was reportedly killed in the Kuzminsky forest park near Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims.
"Anyone who is involved in the development of the Russian military-industrial complex and support of Russian aggression in Ukraine one way or another is a legitimate target of the Defense Forces," the source said.
Ukrainian intelligence services have been linked to a number of assassinations of pro-Russian collaborators or Russian military officers inside Russia or Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine during the full-scale war.
Chris York
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