Explosions at Russian drone factory in Tatarstan: First details
Photo: Explosions in Tatarstan at a Russian drone production facility on April 23 (screenshot from video)
Explosions rocked Alabuga, the largest special economic zone in Russia, on April 23. Here, in particular, Russians manufacture thousands of drones, according to Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation.
“Alabuga in Tatarstan, where the Russians produce Shahed/Geran and various fakes, where they have increased production, somewhat loudly and sometimes successfully,” he said.
The explosions in Yelabuga became known around 1 p.m. Locals reported that drones were being shot down in the region. Videos were also posted online.
Later, the Russian authorities confirmed the attack on Yelabuga. The mayor of the city, Rustem Nuriyev, said that a drone had been shot down over the territory of the district.
“Today, an air defense system shot down a UAV over the territory of the Yelabuga district. Emergency services are at the scene, all the necessary work is being done,” he said, adding that there were no casualties or injuries.
Scale of drone production in Alabuga, Russia
According to Kovalenko, more than 6,000 Shaheds were produced in Alabuga in 2024, as well as thousands of fake drones.
“This year, the Russians set a goal to produce 8 to 10 thousand drones a year in Alabuga and 15 thousand fake drones,” he said.
About Alabuga
Alabuga is a special economic zone of industrial and production type in the Yelabuga district of Tatarstan.
It is located 10 km from Yelabuga, 25 km from Naberezhnye Chelny, 40 km from Nizhnekamsk and 210 km from Kazan. It covers an area of 3903.5 hectares.
The Ministry of Land and Property relations of the Republic of Tatarstan is the 100% shareholder of the Alabuga management company.
As of 2019, Alabuga is the largest special economic zone of industrial and production type in Russia, generating 59% of total revenue and 34% of tax collections from all SEZs in the country, and providing 39% of private investment in Russian SEZs.
Not the first explosions in Tatarstan
In April 2024, drones attacked facilities in Tatarstan, Russia, paricularly in Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk.
Later, RBC-Ukraine learned that the target of the attack, organized by the intelligence, was a Shahed assembly plant in Tatarstan, which is located more than 1,000 km from Ukraine.
Back in January last year, it was reported that the Russians had deployed at least two production lines for Shahed kamikaze drones in Yelabuga.
