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On April 23, Ukrainian fixed-wing drones reached the city of Yelabuga in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan and struck production facilities manufacturing Shahed strike drones, which Russia uses to attack Ukraine. The Kremlin had planned to nearly double production volumes in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, but those plans are now in jeopardy.
The successful strike was reported via Telegram by Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. His post appeared roughly an hour after Russian media and residents of Tatarstan began reporting on a drone attack of unknown origin threatening facilities in the Alabuga zone. According to Kovalenko, it was “loud” and “somewhat successful” in the region.
In a follow-up message, Kovalenko clarified what he meant by “scaling up production.” He stated that in 2024, facilities in Tatarstan had produced 6,000 Shahed and Geran strike drones. In 2025, Russia planned to double that number to between 8,000 and 10,000 drones. Additionally, the production of up to 15,000 decoy drones was also planned.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine later confirmed that the attack on the Shahed drone production facility in Russia was carried out by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.
⚡️ОЕЗ «Алабуга», Татарстан, рф — вибухи, ураження промислових потужностей підприємства по виготовленню БпЛА типу "Шахед-Герань".
Заявлено про застосування 6 БпЛА літакового типу.
На відео один з ним маневрує перед заходом на удар.14:12 23.04.25 pic.twitter.com/Zd70IgYIJd
— monitor (@war_monitor_ua) April 23, 2025
Around midday, residents of Tatarstan began posting videos from Yelabuga showing fixed-wing drones flying over the region — more than 1,200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The footage captured explosions in the air, likely caused by Russian air defenses. While some drones were reportedly shot down, others managed to continue their flight. In one video, a miniature aircraft is seen maneuvering over an industrial zone, apparently selecting a target for the strike.
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