One of Vladimir Putin’s
top weapons designers has died in mysterious circumstances as he ‘underwent
treatment to combat anxiety disorders and depression’.
Dmitry Konoplev, 46, headed
the defense-related Shipunov Instrument Design Bureau, which is behind the
lethal Pantsir missile system used in the war in Ukraine.
In total, the organization is
responsible for more than 150 weapons and pieces of military equipment used by
the Russian Army.
Previously, Konoplev was
deputy director of Russia’s Federal Agency for the Supply of Weapons, Military,
Special Equipment and Materials.
He evidently died after
suffering acute anxiety.
Initial reports said doctors
could not establish the weapon guru’s cause of death.
But later, Izvestia reported
he suffered an ‘acute heart attack’ while undergoing Xenon therapy wearing an
oxygen mask at an elite Moscow clinic.
The treatment, which sees
patients inhale Xenon which has been found to have properties similar to that
of antidepressants, is used to counter anxiety, depression, neurological
diseases and sleep problems.
With war unleashed by Putin
raging in Ukraine, Konoplev was reported to have been suffering anxiety and
headaches.
