State news agency TASS cited a source in the emergency services ​as saying that Vladimir Tkachuk, head of the Uraldronzavod company, was in intensive ​care and that medics were fighting for his life.

The attack took place ⁠on Tuesday, according to one Russian war blogger, but the details emerged only a ​day later and were widely reported across Russian media.

Mash, a news outlet with sources in ​the police and security services, said Tkachuk's Mercedes was destroyed by an explosive device hidden underneath it. The driver, also described in some reports as a bodyguard, was killed on the spot, it said.

STRING ​OF ASSASSINATIONS

Russia has blamed Ukraine for a string of previous assassinations of senior military officials ​and people linked to Moscow's war effort.

Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some attacks while denying blame for ‌others. There ⁠was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the latest incident.

Tkachuk's company makes "Vampire" first-person drones – which are controlled by an operator wearing goggles fed by a live video feed – which have been widely used by Russia on the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine.

He ​also ran a popular ​Telegram channel, "Obsessed with ⁠War", which collected funds for the military.

Tkachuk had demonstrated the Vampire to top officials including President Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman ​of Russia's Security Council, according to Yekaterinburg news outlet e1.ru.

It was ​the second ⁠attack in a week on Russian drone makers. On July 30, Andrei Cherezov, developer of a model called "Gadfly", was shot and wounded by an unknown assailant.

Drones have come to dominate the ⁠Ukraine ​war, now midway through its fifth year. News of ​the car bombing broke shortly after Putin named a commander to head Russia's Unmanned Systems Forces, a newly established branch ​of the military.