A top Putin missile scientist was reportedly shot dead in a Moscow park by a Ukrainian military assassin.
Mikhail Shatsky, deputy chief designer of the Mars Design Bureau, which develops and manufactures onboard guidance systems for the Russian military and space industry, was allegedly eliminated by an unknown assassin in the Kuzminsky forest park, in Kotelniki, eight miles southeast of the Kremlin.
Reports say that the scientist, an associate professor, was actively working on upgrading the Russian Kh-59 cruise missile to the Kh-69 level, which Russian troops use to attack Ukraine.
There was immediate speculation that he was killed by Ukrainian military intelligence.
“Today, GUR forces in Moscow eliminated a particularly malicious criminal – deputy general designer, head of the software department of the Mars Design Bureau, Mikhail Shatsky,” reported exiled Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov.
“He was involved in upgrading Kh-59 cruise missiles to Kh-69 level, introducing new unmanned aerial vehicles and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Ukrainians.”
Nevzorov also posted macabre images of a man’s body lying in the snow.
The Russian news agency APN reported: ‘As a result of the shooting in Kotelniki on December 11, Mikhail Shatsky, head of the software department of the Mars Design Bureau, died.
Putin’s top missile scientist Mikhail Shatsky was “eliminated” in a Moscow park by a gunman amid accusations of an assassination by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence directorate.
His body was found lying in the snow in a Moscow park.
Reports say that the scientist, an associate professor, was actively working on upgrading the Russian Kh-59 cruise missile (pictured) to the Kh-69 level, which Russian troops use to attack Ukraine.
Shatsky also developed and predicted the reliability of control systems aboard spacecraft based on neural network theory, as well as many other spacecraft-related issues.
‘He was involved in the modernization of the X-59 cruise missiles and developed the latest types of UAVs (military drones).
“Ukrainian nationalists claimed responsibility for the murder.”
There was no immediate official Russian statement.
Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne said it had received confirmation from Ukrainian “special services” that Shatsky had been “eliminated”.
Footage showed Russian emergency services arriving at the snow-covered location.
Previously, there were reports of a shooting in the park on Tuesday without any identification of the victim.
“Budanov has long arms,” Nevzorov said, referring to the head of the GUR, Ukrainian General Kyrylo Budanov.
“It seems that none of those guilty of the genocide of the Ukrainians will die a natural death.”
The Kh-59 has been more closely linked to the Raduga Design Bureau than to Mars, for which Shatsky worked.
But Mars had been involved in the modernization and production of control systems for propulsion units and onboard control systems for Raduga-designed missiles such as the Kh-59 and Kh-69.
Raduga specializes in the development and production of cruise missiles for various purposes.
In addition to specialization, Shatsky also developed and predicted the reliability of control systems on board spacecraft based on neural network theory, as well as many other spacecraft-related issues.
Above, a screenshot of when Russia first used Oreshnik against Ukraine on November 21.
The Kh-59 and Kh-69 air-launched cruise missiles have been widely used by Putin’s forces against Ukraine in the war.
It comes as Russia threatened to fire another of its hypersonic ballistic missiles at Ukraine “within days”, the United States warned on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin has a handful of experimental missiles, known as Oreshnik, or hazel.
It claims that the missile is impossible to intercept and has a destructive power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when equipped with a conventional warhead.
It is capable of destroying underground bunkers “three, four or more stories deep,” Putin boasted last month, threatening to use it against kyiv’s government district.
But U.S. officials view the Oreshnik, an experimental missile, as more of an intimidation attempt than a game-changer.
“We assess that Oreshnik is not a battlefield game-changer, but rather another attempt by Russia to terrorize Ukraine, which will fail,” an official told Reuters.