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“Yura the Toilet”: Businessman With No Military Experience Reportedly Appointed to Lead Russia’s Drone Forces
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Russia has reportedly appointed a businessman with no formal military education, Yury Vaganov, known as “Yura the Toilet,” to lead its newly created drone forces, prompting backlash from the Russian pro-war military bloggers and raising questions about how the Kremlin is structuring a branch it has described as a battlefield priority, the BBC reported on December 26.
According to Russian milbloggers and sources in the country’s drone manufacturing sector cited by the BBC, the commander of Russia’s newly formed Unmanned Systems Forces is Yury Vaganov, a former entrepreneur from the Moscow region town of Elektrostal.
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The appointment has not been officially announced by the Defense Ministry, but industry insiders told the BBC it has effectively already taken place.
The Unmanned Systems Forces were formally established on Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin’s order, with Defense Minister Andrei Belousov confirming their creation in late 2024. State media reported in November that the formation of the new branch had been completed, though authorities have disclosed few details about its structure or leadership.
Until now, only Deputy Commander Col. Sergei Ishtuganov had spoken publicly, offering broad statements about cooperation with drone manufacturers, BBC wrote.
Vaganov is a controversial figure within Russia’s pro-war community. pro-war Russian bloggers describe him as a civilian businessman who built a dominant position in supplying FPV drones to Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine, earning the mocking nickname “Yura the Toilet” for his pre-war trade in plumbing supplies.
Critics accuse him of prioritizing commercial interests over battlefield effectiveness and of using administrative pressure to sideline competitors.
Analysts cited by the BBC note that production linked to Vaganov, including drones manufactured through the “Sudoplatov Battalion” network, became one of the largest FPV suppliers to the Russian military, reportedly backed by strong financial and political patronage.
This near-monopoly has fueled resentment among frontline volunteers and military bloggers, many of whom argue the appointment reflects corruption rather than operational reform.
The contrast with Ukraine is stark. Kyiv established its own Unmanned Systems Forces in February 2024, appointing combat-experienced drone commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi as its first chief. Brovdi rose through battlefield leadership and has become a prominent symbol of Ukraine’s drone warfare doctrine, BBC wrote.
If Vaganov’s appointment is formally confirmed, he would be expected to receive a general’s rank as commander of a separate service branch, marking a rare transition from civilian entrepreneur to top-level military leadership in wartime Russia, according to the BBC.
Previously, it was reported that Ukrainian forces have successfully repelled a large-scale mechanized assault by Russian troops on the Dobropillia axis near the city of Pokrovsk, as reported by the commander of the SBS group, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, and the press service of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) “Azov”.
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