Russia has unveiled new footage of its massive drone production plant in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, revealing its efforts to ramp up unmanned aerial attacks on Ukraine.
The video, broadcast on Sunday by the Ministry of Defense’s Zvezda TV, offers a rare look inside the facility, where rows of Shahed-136 drones, rebranded by Russia as Geran-2s, are assembled.
“Kurchatov, Korolyov and Stalin live in your DNA.” Russian military TV showcases the giant Shahed drone production plant in Tatarstan, boasting that children after 9th grade are working there to help kill Ukrainians. pic.twitter.com/j7rbiFy9On
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) July 20, 2025
A second video, also released by Russian state media, shows drones being launched from Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks. Reports noted that the vehicles appear to be American-made and may have been acquired in violation of Western sanctions.
Russian media have published footage of “Geran” drones being launched at targets in Ukraine — using American Dodge pickup trucks for the operation. pic.twitter.com/r18HjOXFBc
— Russian Market (@runews) July 20, 2025
According to Russian media, ninth-grade students from the nearby Alabuga Polytechnic College are trained in drone assembly and recruited to work at the factory, earning between 30,000 and 40,000 rubles per month ($335–$445). Reports also indicate that the workforce includes migrant laborers.
Timur Shagivaleev, CEO of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone where the plant is located, claims it is the largest drone factory in the world.
He reported production of over 18,000 Geran-2 drones in the first half of 2025, with monthly output exceeding 5,000 units. Plans are underway to expand annual production to 120,000 drones.
The Yelabuga factory has become central to Russia’s strategy of saturating Ukraine’s air defenses. On July 9, Moscow launched its largest aerial attack of the war, firing 741 drones and missiles in one night.
Analysts now warn that Russia could soon launch between 1,000 and 2,000 drones per day, aiming to saturate Ukraine’s air defenses and exhaust Western military support.
Major General Christian Freuding, head of the Situation Center for Ukraine at Germany’s Ministry of Defense, said such mass drone deployment poses a significant challenge for Ukraine’s air defense systems, which are not designed to handle large volumes of low-cost drones at once.
In an interview with Nachgefragt, Freuding stressed that existing air defense solutions, such as the Patriot missile system, are financially unsustainable against inexpensive drones like the Shahed. “One Shahed costs €30,000 to €50,000, while a Patriot interceptor costs over €5 million,” he said.
Freuding stressed the need for affordable countermeasures, ideally costing between €2,000 and €4,000 per interception. He said developing such systems is crucial to effectively counter large-scale Russian drone attacks.
