Family of Lancet drone developer Aleksandr Zakharov owns property in the UK

Journalists have found that the family of Aleksandr Zakharov, a Russian designer who developed the Lancet drones used in Russia's war against Ukraine, owns property in the UK.

This is stated in an investigation by the Vazhnyye Istorii (Important Stories) publication.

The journalists found that Zakharov's son Lavrentiy and his wife Svetlana have been the owners of an apartment in London worth £1.5 million since 2018.

The apartment is less than 100 square metres in size. The roof of the building where the apartment is located overlooks Big Ben.

The UK government has imposed sanctions on Zakharov's drone development company but has not imposed personal sanctions on the designer's family.

In addition, the journalists found that Zakharov's son Lavrentiy Zakharov has been working at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research since May 2023. He is involved in the study of the weapons and ammunition management programme, demining and humanitarian access.

Prior to that, he worked for UN agencies in New York and Rome.

Lavrentiy Zakharov graduated from University College London, where he received a BA in Politics, Sociology and East European Studies. Zakharov Junior holds a Master's degree in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics.