A swarm of drones attacked a factory producing 'Shaheds' in Russia.

On Wednesday afternoon, April 23, the city of Yelabuga in Tatarstan was attacked by drones. This was reported by Andriy Kovalенко, the head of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

According to him, in Yelabuga, where 'Shaheds'/'Geran' and various decoys are produced, loud and precise strikes were heard.

Kovalенко also noted that in 2024, more than 6000 strike drones and thousands of decoy drones were produced in Yelabuga.

'This year, the Russians plan to produce between 8,000 and 10,000 'Shaheds'/'Gerans' annually and up to 15,000 decoy drones,' he wrote.

This information was also confirmed by Russian social media.

Currently, the airports of Nizhnekamsk and Kazan have restricted their operations - flights in and out have been suspended. There was also a report of an emergency evacuation of the population from Yelabuga.

Note

The Yelabuga factory, where drones are produced, was opened in the territory of the special economic zone 'Alabuga' in 2023. Its main task is the mass production of 'Geran-2' drones, which are the Russian version of Iranian drones 'Shahed 136'.

The factory is located 1700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and is the main assembly center for these unmanned aerial vehicles. The factory employs not only local students but also foreign citizens, predominantly from African countries, who are officially registered as 'interns'.

The drones have been modified and equipped with new antennas made in China, which increases their resistance to Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.

It is worth noting that Russian drones have also attacked Kharkiv and enterprises in Poltava.