Top Russian colonel who trained Vlad’s kamikaze drone unit found dead as Ukraine says ‘every war crime will be punished’
A TOP Russian colonel has been found dead near Moscow, Ukraine's military intelligence said as it vowed "every war crime will be punished".
Aleksey Kolomeitsev, 51, was regarded as one of Vladimir Putin's top cronies as he trained up Russia's kamikaze drone unit and was directly involved in the full-scale invasion, according to Ukraine's military.
He was found dead in Russia on September 27, in a reported joint operation by Ukrainian military intelligence and anti-Putin fighters.
The Ukrainian GUR military intelligence directorate announced the “elimination of a war criminal” but gave no detail on how the Shahed drone chief was killed.
Kolomeitsev - a father-of-two - was being targeted by Ukrainian officials after he led Russia's 924th State Center of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
The unit specialised in drone warfare with Kolomeitsev training up soldiers to use Iranian-made UAV's in combat.
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The GUR said after his death: “The occupier is directly involved in the full-scale invasion of Russia and the commission of war crimes against Ukraine.
“The GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reminds that there will be a fair retribution for every war crime.”
Reports in Ukraine said he was killed "because during his life he was a terrorist and killed peaceful Ukrainians".
Ukrainian troops have become masters in drone warfare since Putin first invaded in February 2022 leading Vlad scrambling to find someone who could match their aerial skills.
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Since then hundreds of Ukrainian troops have been killed by Shahed-M drones.
The drones, first used in 2020 by rebel Houthi groups in Yemen have a range of 1,550 miles.
Known as kamikaze drones, they follow a set of GPS co-ordinates to deliver a payload of explosives.
It comes as another Kremlin propagandist was found dead in Belogorod on September 15 by Ukrainian officials.
Aleksandr Korobov reportedly had his skull crushed in what appeared to be a successful assassination attempt.
Korobov went by the nickname "Crab" and often appeared as a war correspondent on Kremlin state media channel, Russia 1.
Ukraine's military intelligence said: "The propagandist not only prepared false materials about the war, but also personally participated in the commission of serious war crimes against Ukraine."
They did not claim responsibility for his death.
