“It is reported that two additional buildings were built on the territory of the plant, and security was also strengthened”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The sources, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety, said the plant also produces thousands of decoy drones designed to wear down Ukrainian defenses. Satellite images analyzed by CNN and experts show that two additional buildings have been built on the site of the plant, and security has been increased.
While it is unclear what exactly the new buildings are for, they are located within a security perimeter around the two original structures, which may indicate that they are part of the same process, CNN said, citing David Albright, founder of the Washington Institute for Science and International Security. who watches over behind Alabuga from 2022, and estimates that 6,000 drones were produced about a year ahead of schedule.
Neither the Russian Defense Ministry nor representatives of the Alabuga Economic Zone responded to CNN’s requests for comment on drone production at the plant.
The plant in Tatarstan is located more than 1,000 kilometers from the border of Ukraine.
Last week, the Russian authorities announced a drone attack on the city of Kazan in Tatarstan. The Russian side reported eight “arrivals” of UAVs, among them one was at an industrial enterprise, six at a residential area.
On December 23, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that a warehouse with parts for Shahed attack drones worth $16 million was destroyed in Russian Tatarstan. According to the report, the warehouse was destroyed in the territory of the economic zone “Alabuga”, the premises contained 65 fuselages of attack drones, as well as engines, navigation systems, thermal imaging cameras for the production of 400 Shahed-136 units.
Before that, drones flew to Tatarstan five times. At the beginning of April, UAVs attacked the territory of Tatarstan for the first time since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine. Drones then flew to the territory of Yelabuga and Nizhnyokamsk enterprises.
According to British intelligence, in November Russia launched about 2,300 UAVs of various types over Ukraine, which once again exceeded the total number for the previous month. It said that the monthly number of strike drones has been steadily increasing throughout 2024, with a significant increase of more than 200 units compared to the previous month since July of this year.