"Yura Unitaz" Without A Military Background Has Taken Charge Of Russia's UAV Troops
6- 26.12.2025, 14:34
- 4,428
Yuri Vaganov was in the business of selling plumbing fixtures.
The commander of the unmanned systems troops of the Russian Armed Forces has appointed a businessman and volunteer from the Moscow region Yuri Vaganov, who has no military education. This was independently reported by Z-bloggers. A source of the Russian Service BBC in the drone industry confirmed the information.
"A person known to very many in the SVO as 'Yura Unitaz' has been appointed commander," military expert and 3rd rank captain in reserve Maksim Klimov said during a stream. According to him, Vaganov used to sell plumbing fixtures, and after the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, he became a monopolist in the issue of supplying FPV drones to Russian troops. Z-blogger Svyatoslav Golikov noted that Vaganov works in conjunction with Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko and their relationship is all "bluntly about commerce" and not about the development of unmanned vehicles and their use in modern warfare. "The usual story. That's the way it is with them. I mean, they're fighting with their left foot. It's a commercial project. So what if people are dying," the former Russian serviceman commented on the appointment to the BBC.
According to the publication, Vaganov was born in Stepanakert in 1982 and before the war in Ukraine began, he was not the biggest businessman in Elektrostal near Moscow. He joined the People's Front and during the coronavirus pandemic helped the city hospital with masks. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the businessman began regularly delivering humanitarian aid to the self-proclaimed "DNR" and "LNR".
Over the years of war, Vaganov gained connections and became one of the main suppliers of FPV drones for the Russian army.
In particular, he set up the production of drones on the basis of the Sudoplatov battalion. In October 2025, Patriarch Kirill awarded Vaganov with the Order of Blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy III degree. At the same time, the businessman was introduced at the ceremony as a lieutenant colonel and adviser to the Deputy Minister of Defense on armaments. Vaganov is to receive general's epaulettes as commander of a separate branch of troops.
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