Latest news with #Yelabuga
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Inside Russia's suicide drone factories manned by teenagers
Credit: Zvezda/Russian state owned tv/X Teenagers are helping Russia build Shahed suicide drones as Vladimir Putin ramps up production at a major factory in Tatarstan. The Yelabuga production facility, the largest of its kind in the world, is spearheading efforts to stockpile the weapons to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences with mass aerial bombardments. The footage, recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry's TV channel, is the first detailed look inside the plant. Students and staff are shown on the production line constructing row after row of matt black 'Geran-2' drones, the Russian-built version of the Iranian-designed Shahed 136. Teenagers are reportedly invited to the plant after finishing 9th grade at 15 years old, and most come from the nearby technical college. 'Everywhere you look, there's young people working here,' the voice-over says as the camera pans across what appear to be dozens of teenagers making drone components and working at computers on the bright factory floor. Shahed drones have become instrumental in Putin's plans to relentlessly pound Ukrainian cities and drain morale among the armed forces and terrorised civilians. It came as the Kremlin said on Sunday that achieving its war goals remains Russia's priority ahead of signing a peace deal with Ukraine, despite Donald Trump giving Moscow 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face severe sanctions. European defence officials believe Russia plans to fire thousands of the relatively cheap Shahed drones every night as production increases. The new dark paintwork on the Russian models is believed to reflect an increasing focus on night-time attacks. Other footage released in Russia on Sunday showed the drones being launched from the back of what appear to be new model American-made Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks, seemingly in violation of sanctions. Credit: Zvezda/Russian state owned tv/X The video of the factories emphasised the plant's in-house production lines, showing metal foundries and a blacksmith's workshop, as well as assembly stations and testing facilities. It said Putin had noted the set-up at Yelabuga, suggesting it should be replicated across the country to reduce Russia's dependence on imports for manufacturing. Russia is now believed to be producing more than 5,000 long-range drones a month, with up to 18,000 units built at the Yelabuga plant in the first half of 2025 alone. A Kremlin-linked think tank claimed last month that drone production had jumped by 16.9 per cent in May. More than 500 drones and missiles are regularly fired at Ukraine in night time attacks, and analysts believe the Kremlin is close to being able to pound the country with more than 1,000 in a single day. On July 9, Russia carried out its largest attack yet, with 741 missiles and drones launched at Ukrainian towns and cities. Putin hopes that with repeated onslaughts, he can wear down morale among Ukraine's population, deplete Kyiv's defences and undermine the West's appetite to maintain its support. Geran-2 drones are relatively cheap to produce, costing between £26,000 and £37,200 per unit. Ukraine's western-supplied air defence systems are much more expensive, with a single Patriot missile interceptor costing over £4 million. Christian Freuding, a senior German army officer, warned this week that Ukraine and its allies would need to develop countermeasures costing £1,500 to £3,000 per unit in order for its air defence to be economically viable, given Russia's growing attacks. Mr Freuding also said he believed Russia is aiming to be able to launch 2,000 drones a night at Ukraine, which would pose a serious challenge to air defences. The Yelabuga site was opened in 2023 and is in the Alabuga special economic zone near Kazan, a high-tech manufacturing hub. If needed, drone technology can be shipped directly from Iran via the Caspian Sea as it sits on the Kama River, which flows into the Volga. Though more than 1,000 miles from the Ukrainian border, the facility appears to have been targeted by Kyiv. In June, Russian media reported that one person was killed when intercepted drone debris fell on a checkpoint in the area. The Geran-2 has a total length of 3.5 metres and a wingspan of 2.5 metres. It weighs around 200 kilograms, carries a 50kg warhead and can descend onto targets up to 1,800 kilometres away at speeds of up to 300kmph. Ukraine reported this week that it had shot down its 30,000th Shahed drone, using analysis of a serial number obtained from a fragment of one of the downed munitions.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Putin's 'dark destroyer' factory: Inside 'world's biggest drone plant' in Russia where army of teens make kamikaze killing machines to unleash on Ukraine
Russia has revealed what it claims is the largest drone production facility in the world. Located in a highly secretive complex in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, it employs teenagers to help build lethal kamikaze drones used in strikes on Ukraine. Footage broadcast by the Russian military's Zvezda TV channel shows rows of Gen-2 drones lined up inside the plant, ready to be deployed. The unnamed aerial vehicles are Russian-made versions of Iran 's Shahed-136 and have been used in deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities. Their black matte paint is designed to reduce visibility during night-time missions and evade air defence detection. The Alabuga plant is more than 1,000 kilometres from Ukraine's border and is part of a state-run special economic zone. Its director has boasted that production has exceeded expectations. Some reports suggest up to 18,000 units were built in the first half of 2025 alone. It's been reported that teenage students from the nearby Alabuga Polytechnic College are being trained in weapons manufacturing from the age of 14 or 15. Once they complete their education, many transition directly to the factory floor to join the assembly line. Footage shows these teenagers working on components, programming drones, and carrying out testing tasks, their faces blurred to conceal identities. Critics say this represents a dangerous militarisation of education, where children are being groomed into the defence industry and made to contribute directly to a brutal war. Reports from Russian media and leaked testimonies reveal that students are subjected to long working hours, sometimes without breaks, and are paid modest wages of about $335 to $445 per month. Contracts ban them from speaking about their work and impose severe financial penalties of up to $22,000 for violations. Families who resist or refuse participation can be forced to repay thousands of dollars in training costs, with surveillance reportedly used to enforce compliance. The drones produced at Alabuga have a range of up to 1,800 kilometres and are equipped with warheads capable of inflicting widespread destruction. Although Russia insists its drone strikes only target military sites, Ukraine and international observers accuse Moscow of using them to terrorise civilians. Kyiv has repeatedly reported drone attacks on residential areas, including the capital, where people take cover in underground shelters during nightly bombardments. The factory has also been linked to high-profile drone launches using repurposed American pickup trucks, which have been filmed carrying and firing the Geran-2. Russian state media showcased this as part of a broader campaign to boost public support for the war effort. President Vladimir Putin has called for an urgent increase in drone production, claiming more than 1.5 million unmanned systems were built last year. It is not the first time there has been news of children being used in Russia's war. Last month, Georgetown University published that thousands of children abducted from Ukrainian villages were being forcibly turned into soldiers.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia appears to be launching its exploding Shahed-style drones from American-designed pickup trucks
Russia's defense ministry released new footage of its massive factory making Shahed-style drones. The footage showed how the drones can be launched from the bed of pickup trucks. Iranian-made Shahed drones and homemade Russian versions have been used in worsening attacks against Ukraine. Newly aired state media footage showed Russia operating what look to be American-designed Ram pickup trucks with Shahed-style drones ready for launch in the back. Zvezda, the Russian defense ministry's TV channel, released a video on Sunday spotlighting the large Yelabuga drone factory in the Tatarstan region, which is where the domestically produced version of the Shahed-136 is built. While the footage primarily focuses on intricate manufacturing processes inside the sprawling factory, it also offers insight into how the deadly and highly destructive drones, known by the Russian designation Geran-2, can be launched. The video shows at least one clearly identified American-designed Ram truck, with a drone mounted on the bed, charging down a runway-style strip of road surrounded by large mounds of dirt that could be designed to protect the site from attacks. Additional frames in the footage show several drones taking off from unidentified black trucks with steep climbs, resembling airplanes. At another point, the video shows five stationary black pickup trucks, all with drones mounted on the back. It also reveals the storage shelters in which the drones are kept before their potential use in the strikes against Ukraine. Like other truck-mounted launchers, the vehicles provide a flexible and mobile launch option. The exact make and model of all the pickup trucks featured in Zvezda's footage are unclear. Stellantis, a multinational automotive group that owns Ram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The Iranian-made Shahed-136 is a one-way attack drone, or loitering munition, that can linger in the air for a period of time before diving down at its target and exploding on impact. Russia started using the Iranian-imported Shaheds to attack Ukraine in 2022, but it has since started producing them at home. The Yelabuga factory — which is more than 1,000 miles from Ukraine's border — opened in 2023, allowing Moscow to rapidly scale up drone production without relying on Tehran. Ukraine has targeted the Yelabuga factory with long-range drones on multiple occasions. Russia uses the Shahed-style drones in nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The bombardments have grown in size in recent months, with some consisting of hundreds of attack and decoy drones — the latter are designed to exhaust Kyiv's increasingly strained air defenses. Some recent Western assessments suggest that Moscow may eventually be able to launch thousands of drones in a single night, a bombardment that could greatly overwhelm Ukraine's already heavily exhausted air defenses. Ukrainians have said Russia has introduced new tactics with its Shaheds, making their attacks more complicated, and have modified the drones to make them deadlier, including by swapping out the standard explosive payloads for thermobaric warheads. Read the original article on Business Insider Solve the daily Crossword
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Inside Russia's suicide drone factories manned by teenagers
Teenagers are helping Russia build Shahed suicide drones as Vladimir Putin ramps up production at a major factory in Tatarstan. The Yelabuga production facility, the largest of its kind in the world, is spearheading efforts to stockpile the weapons to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences with mass aerial bombardments. The footage, recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry's TV channel, is the first detailed look inside the plant. Students and staff are shown on the production line constructing row after row of matt black 'Geran-2' drones, the Russian-built version of the Iranian-designed Shahed 136. Teenagers are reportedly invited to the plant after finishing 9th grade at 15 years old and mostly come from the nearby technical college. 'Everywhere you look, there's young people working here,' the voice-over says as the camera pans across what appear to be dozens of teenagers making drone components and working at computers on the bright factory floor. Shahed drones have become instrumental in Putin's plans to relentlessly pound Ukrainian cities and drain morale among the armed forces and terrorised civilians. It came as the Kremlin said on Sunday that achieving its war goals remains Russia's priority ahead of signing a peace deal with Ukraine, despite Donald Trump giving Moscow 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face severe sanctions. European defence officials believe Russia plans to fire thousands of the relatively cheap Shahed drones every night as production increases. The new dark paintwork on the Russian models is believed to reflect an increasing focus on night-time attacks. Other footage released in Russia on Sunday showed the drones being launched from the back of what appear to be new model American-made Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks, seemingly in violation of sanctions. The video of the factories emphasised the plant's in-house production lines, showing metal foundries and a blacksmith's workshop, as well as assembly stations and testing facilities. It said Putin had noted the set up at Yelabuga, suggesting it should be replicated across the country to reduce Russia's dependence on imports for manufacturing. Russia is now believed to be producing more than 5,000 long-range drones a month, with up to 18,000 units built at the Yelabuga plant in the first half of 2025 alone. A Kremlin-linked think tank claimed last month that drone production had jumped by 16.9 per cent in May. More than 500 drones and missiles are regularly fired at Ukraine in night-time attacks, and analysts believe the Kremlin is close to being able to pound the country with more than 1,000 in a single day. On July 9, Russia carried out its largest attack yet, with 741 missiles and drones launched at Ukrainian towns and cities. Putin hopes that with repeated onslaughts, he can wear down morale among Ukraine's population, deplete Kyiv's defences and undermine the West's appetite to maintain its support. Geran-2 drones are relatively cheap to produce, costing between £26,000 and £37,200 per unit. Ukraine's western-supplied air defence systems are much more expensive, with a single Patriot missile interceptor costing over £4 million. Christian Freuding, a senior German army officer, warned this week that Ukraine and its allies would need to develop countermeasures costing £1,500 to £3,000 per unit in order for its air defence to be economically viable given Russia's growing attacks. Mr Freuding also said he believed Russia is aiming to be able to launch 2,000 drones a night at Ukraine, which would pose a serious challenge to air defences. The Yelabuga site was opened in 2023 and is in the Alabuga special economic zone near Kazan, a high-tech manufacturing hub. If needed, drone technology can be shipped directly from Iran via the Caspian Sea as it sits on the Kama River, which flows into the Volga. Though more than 1,000 miles from the Ukrainian border, the facility appears to have been targeted by Kyiv. In June, Russian media reported one person was killed when intercepted drone debris fell on a checkpoint in the area. The Geran-2 has a total length of 3.5 metres and a wingspan of 2.5 metres. It weighs around 200 kilograms, carries a 50kg warhead and can descend onto targets up to 1,800 kilometres away at speeds of up to 300kmph. Ukraine reported this week that it had shot down its 30,000th Shahed drone, using analysis of a serial number obtained from a fragment of one of the downed munitions.
Al Jazeera
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
As Israel-Iran war escalates, Ukraine fears ‘more losses' to Russia
Kyiv, Ukraine – There is a Persian word millions of Ukrainians fear. Shahed – also spelled as Shaheed or Shahid, originally a Quranic term for 'martyr' or 'witness' – is the name given to the triangular, explosives-laden, Iranian-designed drones that became a harrowing part of daily life and death in wartime Ukraine. These days, they are assembled in the Volga-region Russian city of Yelabuga and undergo constant modifications to make them faster, smarter and deadlier during each air raid that involves hundreds of drones. Their latest Russian versions shot down in Ukraine earlier this month have artificial intelligence modules to better recognise targets, video cameras and two-way radio communication with human operators. 'The word 'Shahed' will forever be cursed in Ukrainian next to 'Moscow' and 'Putin',' said Denys Kovalenko, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kovalenko's face and arms were cut by glass shards after a Shahed exploded above his northern Kyiv neighbourhood in 2023. Shaheds are the most visible and audible part of the military alliance between Moscow and Tehran that is being tested this month amid attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran. Other aspects of the alliance that affect the Russia-Ukraine war include Iranian-made ammunition, helmets, and flak jackets, according to Nikita Smagin, an author and expert on Russia-Iran relations. However, the year 2022, when Putin started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was the 'peak of Iran's significance for Russia as a military partner', Smagin told Al Jazeera. The Kremlin has invested tens of billions of dollars into its military-industrial complex and shadow systems to supply chips, machine tools and dual-purpose goods for its weapons that bypass Western sanctions. The flow of military technologies usually went the other way as Moscow supplied advanced air defence systems, missiles and warplanes to Tehran, keeping Israel worried. In 2009, then-Israeli President Shimon Peres told this reporter in Moscow that his visit was aimed at convincing the Kremlin to 'reconsider' the sale of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Tehran. Russia's advanced Su-35 jets were supposed to be delivered to Tehran earlier this year, but were not seen in the Iranian sky. Washington's arms supplies to Israel have already affected Kyiv's ability to withstand Russia's air raids and slow advance on the ground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 9 that the White House decided to divert 20,000 anti-drone missiles earmarked for Kyiv. 'Without the help of the United States, we'll have more losses,' Zelenskyy said in televised remarks. More Ukraine-bound military aid may now be diverted to Israel, and the Kremlin 'counts on this scenario', analyst Smagin said. This possible diversion already alarms Ukraine's top brass. Arms that were 'made for Ukraine will go to the Middle, so there are no illusions about it', Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of Ukraine's general staff of armed forces, told Al Jazeera. There should be no illusions about Russia's ability to protect Iran, he said. Even though Moscow and Tehran hail their strategic partnership, it does not envisage a mutual defence clause. Therefore, the Kremlin will hardly be able to commit to military action similar to the Russian air raids against Syria's then-opposition to support then-President Bashar al-Assad's faltering regime, he said. 'They won't change anything significantly,' Romanenko said. 'But they will have enough for arms supplies.' Any arms supplies may, however, enrage US President Donald Trump, who has so far showed unusual leniency towards Moscow's actions in Ukraine as his administration botched peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Moscow's condemnation of Israeli and US strikes on Iran evoked a sense of hypocrisy, some observers said, as Russia's description of the attacks sounded familiar. 'No matter what arguments are used to justify an irresponsible decision to subject a sovereign state's territory to missile and bomb strikes, [the decision] rudely violates international law, the United Nations charter and the resolutions of the UN Security Council,' Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. 'Moscow and Iran compete for China's market' There is an area where Russia and Iran compete for multibillion-dollar oil trade profits that keep their sanctions-hobbled economies afloat. 'Moscow and Iran compete for China's market, and China will respectively have to buy more Russian oil at a higher price,' Smagin said. A third of global oil exports go through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel between Iran and Oman that is fully controlled by Tehran's 'mosquito fleet' of tiny warships. Crude prices will skyrocket worldwide if Tehran opts to close the strait to tankers. It would also strike a financial bonanza for Russia that could further finance the war in Ukraine. And as Moscow's war in Ukraine consumes most of Russia's resources, its reputation in the Middle East will suffer. 'Reputation-wise, Russia suffers huge losses as it risks not to be seen as a great power in the Middle East,' Smagin said. If Tehran rejects Trump's 'ultimate ultimatum' to work out a peace deal, Washington's attention to Iran and Israel may spell disaster for Kyiv. 'Undoubtedly, the US's refocusing on the Middle East and Iran is a geopolitical catastrophe for us; there's nothing to argue about,' Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kuschch told Al Jazeera.
