Russian TV shows teenagers at 'world's biggest drone factory' making arms to hit Ukraine
The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channel on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted, opens new tab by Ukrainian long-range drones.
Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorise and kill civilians in locations including the capital Kyiv, where residents often shelter in metro stations during attacks.
Russia says its drone and missile strikes target only military or military-related targets and denies deliberately targeting civilians, more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the war began in 2022, the United Nations says.
Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade (aged 14-15) so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college.
Young workers, including teenagers, were shown with their faces blurred out, studying computer screens or making and testing individual components, or assembling drones.
Timur Shagivaleyev, the factory's general director, did not disclose detailed production figures. But he told Zvezda the initial plan had been to produce "several thousand Geran-2 drones" and that the factory was now producing nine times more than that. He did not say what period the figures referred to.
A Russian think tank close to the government last month suggested Russia's drone production had jumped by 16.9% in May compared to the previous month after President Vladimir Putin called for output to be stepped up.
Putin said in April that more than 1.5 million drones of various types had been produced last year, but that Russian troops fighting on the front line in Ukraine needed more.
Both sides have deployed drones on a huge scale, using them to spot and hit targets not only on the battlefield but way beyond the front lines.
Zvezda said the Alabuga factory had its own drone testing ground and showed rows of parked U.S. RAM pickup trucks carrying Geran-2 drones.
It also showed one of them launching a drone.
In May, Russia paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow's Red Square in what state TV said was a first.
The design of the Geran-2, which has a known range of at least 1,500 km (932 miles), originated in Iran where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Zvezda set the documentary to upbeat music, part of its mission to keep Russians interested in and supportive of the war.
The factory is part of the so-called Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which is near the town of Yelabuga, which is over 1,000 km from the border with Ukraine.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
Zelenskiy approves bill 'preserving independence' of anti-corruption bodies
KYIV, Ukraine, July 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy approved draft legislation on Thursday that he said would restore the independence of the country's anti-corruption agencies, reversing course after an outburst of public criticism. Measures enacted earlier this week that established greater control by the prosecutor general, a political appointee, over the two bodies had fuelled rare wartime protests and had thrown Kyiv's EU bid into question. Zelenskiy said on X he had approved the draft for submission to parliament later in the day. "It is important that we are maintaining unity. It is important that we are preserving independence. It is important that we respect the position of all Ukrainians," he said. Zelenskiy, whose image as a tireless leader of the three-year-old war against Russia's invasion has been tarnished by the controversy, said the text of the new bill is "well-balanced". He did not give further details, saying only that it "guarantees real strengthening of Ukraine's law enforcement system, independence of anti-corruption agencies, and reliable any Russian influence". On Monday, security forces arrested two anti-corruption officials on suspicion of ties to Russia and launched sweeping searches of other employees. Critics had decried the measures putting a Zelenskiy-appointed prosecutor in control over the anti-corruption agencies, saying they went too far and looked like political pressure against the agencies. Opposition lawmakers had collected enough signatures to register their own legislation to revoke the restrictive measures, which had been fast-tracked with help from Zelenskiy's ruling party. It was not immediately clear how soon parliament, which was meant to start its summer holiday this week, would consider either bill. The European officials expressed strong criticism over changes curbing the authority of the anti-corruption bodies and on Thursday welcomed an earlier pledge by Zelenskiy to retain their independence.
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Shocked Ukrainians leave apartment block after Russian bomb hits Kharkiv
The Ukrainian authorities have said at least 33 people were injured after Russia fired a glide bomb at a residential neighbourhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The regional governor said those injured included a 10-year-old child and one-month-old infant. Footage from Kharkiv shows cars on fire and black smoke billowing from an apartment block.
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
Kazakh Black Sea oil exports resume as tankers given access, sources say
MOSCOW, July 24 (Reuters) - Russia's FSB security service has started handing out clearance for foreign tankers to access the Black Sea ports, allowing for Kazakhstan's oil exports to resume after they were halted for nearly a day, four industry sources said on Thursday. The suspension led to the disruption of around 2% of global supply and drove international oil prices to almost $70 a barrel on Thursday before they pared gains. Russian regulations mean foreign ships require the approval of Russia's FSB security service to access the country's ports. The new law was signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday and came into effect after a decision by the European Union at the end of last week to impose further sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. Two industry sources said on Wednesday foreign tankers were being temporarily barred from loading at Russia's main Black Sea ports. That effectively halted oil exports from Kazakhstan via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that connects Kazakhstan's oil fields with export markets. Shareholders of the CPC include U.S. majors Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and ExxonMobil (XOM.N), opens new tab. None of the source Reuters spoke to could be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Kazakhstan's energy ministry said the country's pipeline operator KazTransOil was in talks with the oil terminal owner over operations and additional security measures in the Russian Baltic Sea's port of Ust-Luga. The ministry did not elaborate. An industry source, familiar with the matter, said the talks related to the additional costs for the Russian insurance coverage and divers' inspections. Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports from the CPC terminal in Russia were set at 1.66 million barrels per day for August, or about 6.5 million metric tons, almost unchanged from the July export plan, Reuters reported last week. Exports and oil transit via Novorossisk are expected to be around 2.2 million metric tons in July, according to industry sources. Supplies from Novorossisk and the CPC terminal together account for around 2% of global oil supplies. Adding to nervousness on international oil markets about supplies, BP (BP.L), opens new tab said on Thursday that contaminants were detected in some of the oil tanks at Turkey's BTC Ceyhan terminal. It said however that loadings continued from other reservoirs.
