OSINT: Russia is building new sites for the production of Shaheds

In Russia, in the Alabuga special economic zone, capacities are being developed at the enterprise for the production of Shaheds. This is stated in a report by the intelligence channel based on open data Dnipro Osint.

To confirm this, the channel released a satellite image showing new construction work covering a total area of about 1.39 km².

"Most of the new buildings are dormitories for the plant's new employees, who are students, mulattoes, and Tajiks. The Russians are increasing the pace of production of shaheeds and are not going to stop," the report said.

Recall that since 2023, Russia has begun to independently produce "Shahed-136". The plant was set up in the special economic zone "Alabuga", in the city of Yelabuga, 1,200 km from the front line.

Here, the Russians produce drones called "Geran-2". This is a localized version of the Iranian drone. In April 2024, Ukraine launched its first strike on the plant in Yelabuga. Such attacks have occurred subsequently, but they have been isolated and have not yet caused serious damage.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) recorded that since 2023, the area for production in Yelabuzha has doubled. 5 new buildings have appeared here, some of which are equipped with protective structures against Ukrainian drones and surrounded by a fence.

After the establishment of the enterprise in Yelabuz, the number of attacks using Shaheds began to grow systematically. For example, by July 2024, the Russian Federation was launching up to 500 drones per month, and in March 2025 this figure reached almost 4,200 units.

At the same time, the Main Intelligence Directorate noted that in Russia, the production of "Shaheeds" and imitators of this UAV reached about 170 units per day as of May 2025. By the end of the year, they plan to increase the figure to 190 drones per day.