“Russia continues to scale up the production of Shahed drones ahead of the 2024-2025 winter campaign against Ukraine, despite sanctions and technical restrictions. Source: ISW Verbatim: Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War, citing Ukrainian intelligence, write in their report that the Russian plant in the Alabuga special economic zone in the Republic of Tatarstan produced 5,760 Shahed drones between January and September 2024.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Russia continues to scale up the production of Shahed drones ahead of the 2024-2025 winter campaign against Ukraine, despite sanctions and technical restrictions.
Source: ISW
Literally: Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War, citing Ukrainian intelligence, write in their report that the Russian factory in the Alabuga special economic zone in the Republic of Tatarstan produced 5,760 Shahed drones between January and September 2024. This is twice as much as was released in 2023. According to leaked documents, the company has already signed an agreement to produce 6,000 drones by September 2025.
It is also reported that Russia is actively developing low-tech decoy drones similar to Shahed, which are used to defeat Ukraine’s air defense systems. It is planned to produce up to 10,000 such decoys by the end of 2024, which is almost twice the number of strike drones.
The report notes that the Russians have built two new workshops at the Alabuz factory and installed drone screens over the buildings. To improve logistics, the Russians created a railway station with a direct connection between Russia and China, through which the necessary components for the production of drones are supplied.
Literally: “The Russian military will likely continue to adapt its strike strategies to damage Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, while also trying to ramp up production of Shahed drones. The signing of a strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran in January 2025 could contribute to this process.”
Details: Analysts in their report write that Russia faces restrictions in supplying factories with quality components due to Western sanctions. The Russians are forced to use low-quality Chinese-made engines. At the same time, Ukrainian forces, thanks to innovations in radio-electronic warfare, are effectively countering the strikes of the Shaheds.
Key findings:
- Russia continues to build up its domestic capacity to produce Iranian Shahed drones ahead of a planned strike campaign against Ukraine in the winter of 2024-2025. At the same time, the country still faces restrictions on the production and use of these drones, which will likely remain relevant in 2025.
- North Korean troops are suffering significant losses, in particular, the first captured North Korean soldier in the Kursk region was recently confirmed.
- Ukrainian troops attacked the Russian headquarters in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhia region with the HIMARS system. Three Russian officers were reportedly killed. This pre-emptive strike occurred to prevent a possible resumption of Russian offensive operations in the west of the Zaporizhzhia region.
- The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation) blamed weather conditions and the actions of the pilot for the crash of the Embraer 190 of Azerbaijan Airlines in Aktau (Kazakhstan) on December 25. However, a Russian law enforcement source linked to Rosaviatsia claims that the agency tried to cover up the misuse of Russian air defense systems by releasing an alleged transcript of the negotiations between the crew and the controller in Grozny.
- Finnish authorities have arrested the Russian oil tanker Eagle S on suspicion of involvement in damaging underwater power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea. At the same time, it is emphasized that it is too early to claim that Russia is involved in the damage.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu as the head of the newly created Scientific Expert Council under the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine regained their positions near Siversk, while Russian troops advanced in the Toretsk, Veliky Novosilka, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhiv areas.
- Russian regions are increasing premiums for military service to encourage conscription.