Top Russian bomb-maker survives hammer attack right outside his residence

The director of Kurganpribor, a key Russian weapons manufacturer based in Kurgan, was repeatedly struck in the head with a hammer in a targeted attack that left him hospitalized.

As reported by Russian media Ura.ru and confirmed by the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash today, Kurganpribor boss Andrey Kondratyev was attacked on 22 May in the entryway of his residential building shortly after 19:00, upon returning from work. A driver had dropped him off when the assailant launched the attack and fled the scene.

“Emergency aid was given immediately, which may have saved his life,” a source in Russia’s industrial sector told Ura.ru.

Mash says Kondratyev is currently hospitalized with head injuries. A manhunt is reportedly underway for the attacker.

According to TASS, Kurgan Oblast’s Interior Ministry directorate has confirmed that Andrey Kondratyev, “chief designer” at the defense firm Kurganpribor, was the victim of a violent assault.

There are no immediate indications that Ukrainian special services were involved in the attack.

Key player in Russia’s bomb and missile production

Kondratyev heads Kurganpribor, a prominent Russian defense firm, manufacturing a wide range of military products and is deeply involved in the manufacturing of aviation weapons. According to Militarnyi, the company is known to produce components for air-to-air missiles (such as R-73 derivatives), guided bomb correction modules (UMPK), and various artillery fuzes.

Estimates suggest Kurganpribor provides up to 60% of Russia’s entire domestic demand for fuzes used in rocket, tube, and mortar artillery. In 2024, Kondratyev was identified as the facility’s chief designer — a role now seen as closely tied to the motive for the attack.

Pattern of successful strikes on Russian military figures

This is not an isolated incident. Similar cases occur in Russia and Russian-occupied territories on a refular basis.

• In April 2025, Yevgeny Rytikov — a top developer of Russian electronic warfare systems — died in a Bryansk car explosion.
• In November 2024, missile fleet staff chief Valery Trankovsky was killed in a car bomb in occupied Sevastopol. 
• In October 2024, bomber pilot Dmitry Golenkov, who was linked to missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, was found dead in Bryansk Oblast with fatal head wounds, also believed to have been “caused by a hammer.”