Why Ukraine can’t destroy Russia’s Shahed drone factories: Ukraine's intel chief explains
Photo: Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
It is difficult for Ukraine to destroy Russian Shahed drone production facilities due to several factors, said Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, according to Novyny.LIVE.
Budanov states that one major factor is the significant distance between these facilities and Ukraine. Another is their strong protection with advanced electronic warfare (EW) and air defense systems, along with the need to breach Russia’s “first line of defense” along the frontline.
He also noted that these factories are large in size, making drone strikes less effective.
“These are large-scale facilities, with dimensions stretching for kilometers, while drones carry a limited payload designed for striking pinpoint targets. We need to destroy large areas. This requires missiles, and currently, our missiles do not have the necessary range,” Budanov explained.
He also mentioned that Russia is producing a significant number of Shahed drones but declined to disclose the exact figures.
What is Alabuga
Alabuga is a special industrial-economic zone located in Tatarstan, Russia, about 210 km from Kazan and 25 km from Naberezhnye Chelny.
In 2023, it was revealed that one of the factories within the Alabuga zone had begun assembling Shahed-136 attack drones. Since then, the facility has established serial production of these drones under the Russian designation Geran.
Earlier, it was reported that the Russian forces had started using Shahed drones with an increased warhead of up to 90 kg and shrapnel.
Russian-made Shaheds contain thousands of foreign components. Ukraine continues to urge the international community to take action to cut off these supplies.
