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Days before a failed drone assassination targeting Putin, Ukrainian banking baron Volodymyr Yatsenko offered a $500,000 bounty to any weapons maker able to land a drone in Red Square during Moscow’s upcoming Victory Day parade. 

On April 23, a Ukrainian drone laden with 30 Canadian-made C4 explosive blocks crashed near Rudnevo Industrial Park in Moscow. Ukraine-based operators deployed the 37 LB arsenal in a failed bid to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was scheduled to visit Rudnevo that day. 

The drone ultimately failed to hit its target, crashing roughly 12 miles from its intended destination. Russian media reported authorities discovered three similar unmanned aircrafts in the surrounding area. By the time the Canadian-manufactured bombs arrived in Moscow, the government in Ottawa had provided Kiev with nearly 6 billion dollars worth of aid to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s military. 

A Ukrainian UJ-22 airborne drone stuffed with explosives fell in the Moscow region. pic.twitter.com/ORTyyM4Edx

— Spriter (@Spriter99880) April 24, 2023

The Ukrainian UJ-22 drone’s flight originated in the country’s Kharkov region. Yuriy Romanenko, co-founder of a think tank with close ties to Kiev’s intelligence services, credited Ukraine’s Secret Service (SBU) with orchestrating the assassination attempt. Romanenko wrote on Twitter: “Last week, our intelligence officers received information about Putin’s trip to the industrial park in Rudnevo… Accordingly, ours launched a kamikaze drone, which flew through all the air defenses of the Russian Federation, and fell not far from the industrial park.”

Путин, мы все ближе

Все видели новость о дроне который долетел до Москвы, но не взорвался? Так-вот, дрон этот летел не просто так. На прошлой неделе наши разведчики получили информацию о поездке путина в индустриальный парк в Руднево. Удалось даже заполучить карту поездки по… pic.twitter.com/F2u8kClhPO

— Yuriy Romanenko (@shan_yan) April 24, 2023

“Putin, we are getting closer,” Romanenko warned.

The drone was carrying m112 explosive charges, which are used by several states including Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. According to Russian media, the explosives recovered from the botched attack were of Canadian origin.

The failed attempt on Putin’s life came amidst a wave of drone incursions into Russian airspace in recent months. A day after the unsuccessful April 23 offensive, the Russian outlet SHOT recorded 10 drone attacks in the Belgorod border region, some of which included French LU-213 fragmentation grenades and American-made Switchblade drones. The Switchblade has been used in previous air assaults on the region as well.

The uptick in drone attacks inside Russian territory followed Kiev’s July 2022 launch of an “Army of Drones” campaign, an official effort to raise funds, dubbed “dro-nations,” to assist Ukraine’s procurement of foreign-produced, unmanned aircrafts.

The fundraising push, which counts the Western-backed online troll farm, NAFO, and the Ukrainian World Congress as formal partners, has enlisted famed Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, as its top brand ambassador.

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill poses as the official face of Ukraine’s “Army of Drones” fundraiser

“Honored to be an Ambassador for the Army of Drones and to help President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine in any way possible,” Hamill tweeted in September 2022, attaching a photo of himself on a video call with Ukraine’s president.

Honored to be an Ambassador for the Army of Drones and to help President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine in any way possible