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Business Insider
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
Russia appears to be launching its exploding Shahed-style drones from American-designed pickup trucks
Newly aired state media footage showed Russia operating what look to be American-designed Ram pickup trucks with Shahed-style drones ready for launch in the back. Zvezda, the Russian defense ministry's TV channel, released a video on Sunday spotlighting the large Yelabuga drone factory in the Tatarstan region, which is where the domestically produced version of the Shahed-136 is built. While the footage primarily focuses on intricate manufacturing processes inside the sprawling factory, it also offers insight into how the deadly and highly destructive drones, known by the Russian designation Geran-2, can be launched. The video shows at least one clearly identified American-designed Ram truck, with a drone mounted on the bed, charging down a runway-style strip of road surrounded by large mounds of dirt that could be designed to protect the site from attacks. Additional frames in the footage show several drones taking off from unidentified black trucks with steep climbs, resembling airplanes. At another point, the video shows five stationary black pickup trucks, all with drones mounted on the back. It also reveals the storage shelters in which the drones are kept before their potential use in the strikes against Ukraine. Like other truck-mounted launchers, the vehicles provide a flexible and mobile launch option. 🔴 This is how the Russian forces launch Shahed drones to attack Ukraine, using American Dodge pickup trucks, as seen in videos released by Russian state media. — UNITED24 Media (@United24media) July 20, 2025 The exact make and model of all the pickup trucks featured in Zvezda's footage are unclear. Stellantis, a multinational automotive group that owns Ram, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. The Iranian-made Shahed-136 is a one-way attack drone, or loitering munition, that can linger in the air for a period of time before diving down at its target and exploding on impact. Russia started using the Iranian-imported Shaheds to attack Ukraine in 2022, but it has since started producing them at home. The Yelabuga factory — which is more than 1,000 miles from Ukraine's border — opened in 2023, allowing Moscow to rapidly scale up drone production without relying on Tehran. Ukraine has targeted the Yelabuga factory with long-range drones on multiple occasions. Russia uses the Shahed-style drones in nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The bombardments have grown in size in recent months, with some consisting of hundreds of attack and decoy drones — the latter are designed to exhaust Kyiv's increasingly strained air defenses. Some recent Western assessments suggest that Moscow may eventually be able to launch thousands of drones in a single night, a bombardment that could greatly overwhelm Ukraine's already heavily exhausted air defenses. Ukrainians have said Russia has introduced new tactics with its Shaheds, making their attacks more complicated, and have modified the drones to make them deadlier, including by swapping out the standard explosive payloads for thermobaric warheads.
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First Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Russia launches largest aerial attack on Ukraine with 741 drones & missiles
Even as US President Donald Trump has sharpened his tone for the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine in the war so far with 741 drones and missiles. Russia targeted nearly all corners of the country. read more The photograph shows a building on fire from the Russian aerial attack on Ukraine involving 741 drones and missiles on the night of Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Photo by State Emergency Service of Ukraine via Ukrainian presidency) In open defiance of US President Donald Trump's sharpening tone, Russia on Tuesday night launched the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine with 741 drones and missiles on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday (July 8 -9) in the largest attack of the war. Even as the barrage covered nearly the entire country, Ukraine said the main target was the northwestern region of Volyn where Russia targeted an airfield and many industrial facilities near the city of Lutsk. See the map below that tracks all overnight attacks. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 🔴 Russian forces have launched one of the most massive attacks on Ukraine to date tonight, with Lutsk and Zhytomyr being the primary targets. Preliminarily, the assault involved: - 540 to 620 Shahed drones or decoy drones - 6 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles - 4 Kh-101 missiles. — UNITED24 Media (@United24media) July 9, 2025 Out of 728 drones, Ukraine said it neutralised 296 drones and jammed 415 drones. Overall, along with seven cruise missiles, Ukraine said it took down 718 of the 741 missiles and drones with the use of air defence systems, electronic warfare systems, interceptor drones, mobile fire teams, and fighter planes. The attacks came hours after Trump said that Putin was throwing 'a lot of bullshit' at him. He also said that Putin was 'not treating human beings right' and that he was 'killing too many people, so we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine'. 'We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,' said Trump. Putin ramps up attacks as Trump refuses to punish him Emboldened by lack of any punishment from Trump, Putin has attacked Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on a near-daily basis for weeks now. Even as Trump has occasionally used sharp words, he has not done anything to pressurise or punish Putin. Instead, he and his administration have taken a series of steps that have emboldened Putin. For one, the Trump administration stopped the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Last week, Russia had attacked Ukraine with a record 550 drones and missiles within hours of a call between Trump and Putin. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As for the last night's attack, Russia said that its 'long-range' and 'precision' strike targeted military airfield infrastructure and claimed that 'all designated targets were destroyed.' In a social media post, Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff, said, 'It is quite telling that Russia carried out this attack just as the United States publicly announced that it would supply us with weapons.' Trump has so far floated three ceasefires. While Ukraine all three proposals, Russia rejected all of them. Instead, Putin has doubled down on his maximalist demands that would mean the end of Ukraine as a nation if implemented. Meanwhile, on the ground, Russia said that it has captured the village of Tolstoy on Wednesday in the eastern Donetsk region. 'Yet another proof of the need for sanctions' Following the attacks, Zelenskyy said that the barrage was 'yet another proof of the need for sanctions' against Russian oil that has been funding Russia's war. Zelenskyy further said that the attack at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace showed that 'Russia continues to rebuff them all'. 'Secondary sanctions on those who buy this oil and thereby sponsor killings. Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes. Everyone who wants peace must act,' Zelenskyy further said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the overnight barrage, Russian drones and missiles caused damage in 10 regions including Dnipro, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions, according to Ukrainian state media.
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First Post
09-06-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Ukraine strikes Russian missile manufacturing plant
In the latest drone strikes on Russian critical infrastructure, Ukraine has attacked a manufacturing unit in Cheboksary that makes critical components for Russian missiles and Iranian suicide drones. read more Smoke rises from a military production site in Cheboksary in Chuvashia region of Russia after a Ukrainian drone attack on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Photo: X/Ukrainian government) In the latest strikes on Russian critical infrastructure, Ukraine has attacked a manufacturing unit that makes critical components for missiles and drones. Ukraine on Monday struck a manufacturing unit of a private company in Cheboksary in Chuvashia region of Russia that makes critical components for Russian missiles Iskander and Kalibr and Iranian suicide drone Shahed — a mainstay of Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine. Ukrainian state media shared the video of the attack on X. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 👀 Several explosions were reported in Russia's Cheboksary. Reportedly, the ABS Electro plant was attacked. — UNITED24 Media (@United24media) June 9, 2025 Chuvashia Governor Oleg Nikolayev said in a post on Telegram that two drones attacked the compound. He identified the compound as belonging to the JSC VNIIR-Progress, which specialises in the production of advanced electronic warfare (EW) systems used in missiles and drones, among other military platforms. Ukrainian open-source research group CyberBoroshmo said that two AN-196 drones flew around 975 kilometres from the country's border to attack the plant. In recent days, Ukraine has struck a number of critical Russian installations, including airbases, oil depots, and weapons production sites. Last week, Ukraine Engels airfield that housed Russia's bomber aircraft and the Dyagilevo airbase near Moscow that housed refuelling and escort aircraft. The attack, which also included strikes on an oil depot in Saratov, came days after Ukraine attacked at least five Russian airbases in a drone attack that destroyed nearly a third of Russian long-range, nuclear-capable bombers and surveillance aircraft. In another recent attack, Ukraine also targeted a chemical plant in Russia's Tula region. In recent days, even as direct talks are ongoing, Ukraine and Russia have ramped up attacks, with Russia launching hundreds of missiles and drones on near-daily basis. As Russian basis have increased the pace of advance in recent months, Ukraine has ramped up airstrikes on critical installations inside Russia. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
