Updated 00.09 | Published 07.00
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Mikhail Shatsky designed Russian drones and cruise robots.
Now he has been found shot to death in a snowdrift in the forest outside Moscow.
At the same time, Russian troops stand only kilometers from an important strategic objective.
Images shared on social media by Russian military bloggers are said to show the robot commander lying on his back in a snowdrift.
The snow is stained with blood.
Lying in the forest
According to The Moscow Times Mikhail Shatsky was shot dead in a wooded area in Kotelniki, a suburb of Moscow, earlier this week.
The murder site is about a ten-minute walk from his residence, according to the Russian news site Important Stories.
Anonymous sources from within the Ukrainian security service claim the murder.
– Anyone who is involved in developing the Russian military industry and thereby supports Russian aggression against Ukraine is a legitimate target for the defense forces, a source within the Ukrainian security service told Hromadske.
Mikhail Shatsky was found shot to death in a wooded lot. Photo: Social Media
Advanced robots
Mikhail Shatsky was chief designer at a state military company that, among other things, develops navigation systems for drones and satellites, writes The Moscow Times.
He is said to have been responsible for upgrading the older Ch-59 cruise robot to the more modern and deadlier variant Kh-69 that Russia used against Ukraine.
The information about the assassination comes at the same time as Russian forces press on the offensive and approach the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
On Thursday, Russian units were said to be only three kilometers from the southern parts of the city.
The new Kh-69 cruise robot (right) unveiled in 2022.Wikimedia Commons
The alarm from ÖB
Now Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky is warning that the city could be captured in a Russian Christmas storm if urgent measures are not taken.
“Unconventional decisions must be taken to increase resistance in our defense and ensure a more effective elimination of the occupiers,” he writes on Facebook according to Radio Free Europe.
“The battles are very fierce. The Russians are throwing in all available forces to break through our defenses”.
The battle in the region has been going on for months and is said to have been among the fiercest battles of the entire war.
The positional war around Pokrovsk is ongoing at the same time as both sides want to strengthen their positions ahead of a possible truce and peace negotiations in the coming months, writes Radio Free Europe.
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full screenTrump met Zelenskyy in France at the inauguration of renovated Notre-Dame in early December. Photo: AP
“Putin should think it’s time”
On January 20, Donald Trump will once again become the president of the United States and he has repeatedly said that he can resolve the conflict in 24 hours.
In connection with the opening of the renovated Notre-Dame this weekend, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about a possible peace settlement.
– He wants a truce. He wants peace. We didn’t talk about details. He thinks it’s time and Putin should think it’s time because he lost – when you lose 700,000 men it’s time. It will not end until there is peace, said Donald Trump to the New York Post recently.
In one interview with Time published Thursday, the president-elect says the death toll on both sides is “greater than anyone knows.”
– When the real numbers become known, you will see numbers that you will not believe, says Trump to Time.