Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (GUR) reported Wednesday that Aleksey Kolomeitsev, a high-ranking Russian colonel who led the country’s kamikaze drone unit, was found dead near Moscow on September 27.
Kolomeitsev, 51, was regarded as a key figure in Vladimir Putin’s military structure, responsible for training Russia’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators and directly involved in the invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.
The GUR announced the “elimination of a war criminal” but did not provide details on the circumstances of Kolomeitsev’s death. Ukrainian sources suggested the incident was a result of a joint operation between Ukrainian military intelligence and anti-Putin fighters within Russia.
“The occupier is directly involved in the full-scale invasion of Russia and the commission of war crimes against Ukraine,” the GUR stated. “The GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reminds that there will be a fair retribution for every war crime.”
Kolomeitsev led Russia’s 924th State Center of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which specialized in drone warfare, particularly the deployment of Iranian-made UAVs in combat. These Shahed-M drones, with a range of 1,550 miles, have been responsible for hundreds of Ukrainian casualties since the conflict began in February 2022.
This incident follows the reported death of Aleksandr Korobov, a Kremlin propagandist, in Belgorod on September 15. Ukrainian officials stated Korobov had his skull crushed in what appeared to be an assassination, though they did not claim responsibility.
