Captain Konstantin Nagayko, 29, died after he suffered critical injuries after he opened a parcel bomb and coincides with warnings from Russia to its forces over explosives
Ukraine turn FPV goggles into bombs as part of attacks against Russia
Ukraine has claimed a revenge strike to “liquidate” a Russian missile brigade commander whose forces were blamed for killing 59 people in a café attack in 2023.
Captain Konstantin Nagayko, 29, has died after suffering critical injuries in an explosion last month, say Kyiv’s GUR military intelligence. He was killed from wounds sustained opening a parcel bomb after suffering appalling head injuries, according to Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, which has links to the security services.
His death coincides with a warning from Russia to its forces over explosives placed in consignments of Skyzone Cobra X goggles, used by FPV drone pilots. It is unclear if the cases are related, and Russia has not officially acknowledged Nagayko’s death, although media outlets confirm he was killed.
Ukraine had branded him a “war criminal” and said he was directly involved in an atrocity when an Iskander missile was launched on a café during a memorial service in Groza village, Kharkiv region, killing 59 including a child, in October 2023. Russia’s UN representative Vitaly Nebenzya wrongly claimed that it was a funeral for a “high-ranking nationalist” attended by “many of his Nazi accomplices”.
The parcel bomb explosion hit Nagayko on 3 January at his military base in Russia’s Ivanovo region, and he died later despite surgery. He was battery commander of the 112th Guards Missile Brigade of the 1st Tank Army of the Western Military District.
Meanwhile TASS news agency carried a warning that the Russian military had been sent supplies of electronic warfare equipment crammed with explosives. The Skyzone Cobra X v4 FPV goggles had been turned into bombs, as seen on a video.
“When the goggles were turned on, they detonated and exploded,” said a source. “When they opened the batch, they found plastic explosives in all of these products.”
It is believed at least one pair of goggles exploded – but the details are not known, according to Telegram channel Razved Dozor. The pro-war channel called for vigilance from Putin’s military and said: “There are reports from military personnel about multiple cases of volunteers delivering mined FPV goggles Skyzone, model Cobra.
“The goggles contain improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with 10-15 grams of plastic explosive. Detonation occurs when the goggles are turned on.”