Latest news with #Zvezda
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Russia Using American Trucks to Launch Deadly Kamikaze Drone Strikes on Ukraine Cities: Report
Russia is reportedly equipping American-made trucks to launch deadly kamikaze drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, according to a new report. A modified Ram 1500 pickup truck could be seen in a July 20 video by Zvezda, a state TV channel controlled by the country's defense ministry, firing kamikaze drones, according to the Kyiv Independent . Four more trucks with the same feature were later seen in the video showing off the Tatarstan region drone factory, although a source told the outlet that launching drones from pickup trucks was not common. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Stellantis, who owns Ram Trucks, paused all exports to Russia after sanctions were implemented on the country. However, between February 2022 and September 2024, 130 Michigan-made Ram 1500 trucks ended up in the country. The majority of these exports are believed to have come about through a tactic called "transshipment," which is when a company direct sales through a country that is not participating in the sanctions. Several companies based in the United Arab Emirates, who was not involved in the sanctions on Russia, allegedly rerouted sales of the American trucks through the country to sell to private Russian companies. From there, the trucks could be sold anywhere in Russia. While companies could be able to continue sales in sanction-restricted countries with a special license, Alex Bashinsky, a co-founder at the Global Sanctions Training Institute and member of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, told the outlet that they are "hard to obtain." No companies reached out to by Kyiv Independent explicitly stated they had the required license. An intel report from earlier this month revealed that Russia's kamikaze drones are set to multiply in number to use in its war against Ukraine, with the number Shahed-136s, the most common explosive-carrying drone used by Russia, reportedly up exponentially. On Thursday, at least 33 people were injured in an attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine, which officials from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said may have involved a new weapon developed by Russia, UMPB-5 bombs, though this remains unconfirmed. Originally published on Latin Times
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'Decapitated' corpses found at Russian plane crash site as 48 passengers killed
The plane crash in Russia's far east took the lives of everyone on board - resulting in a horrifying crash site and a three-day period of mourning established by officials Charred and decapitated bodies have been found in the Amur region of Russia, where a passenger plane crashed yesterday. The aircraft, from the Soviet-era, was flying from the city of Blagoveshchensk to the remote town of Tynda. There were 48 people on board, including children - but no survivors. The Antonov AN-24 plane had been preparing to land when the crash occurred. The burning fuselage was seen by a search helicopter after it disappeared from radar screens. The Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office said that it had been attempting to land for a second time, after failing to touch down the first time. One witness at the crash site said: 'Everything has been destroyed, and there are only corpses.' Another told the Russian defence ministry TV channel, Zvezda: 'They're not letting anyone near them because everything is scattered around, scattered and decapitated bodies. In short, it's horrible…..' Governor Vasily Orlov asked people 'not to trust unverified information' relating to the crash. He shared on Telegram in Russian that rescuers and investigators were working at the crash site, adding: 'Flight recorders have been found and will soon be delivered to Moscow for decoding.' Orlov also confirmed that officials were working with the victims' relatives and that 'psychological and medical assistance has been provided'. A temporary accommodation centre has been set up, and the mayor's office has booked 'all available hotels' for relatives. A three-day mourning period has been declared in the Amur Region, ending on Sunday 27th, which will see flags lowered across the area. Residents brought flowers, toys, and candles to a vigil in honour of the deceased, and the governor wrote: 'I once again express my deep condolences to the families and friends of the victims. The entire region mourns with you.' During a meeting to discuss the submarine forces of the Russian Navy, President Putin held a minute of silence for the victims of the crash. He said: 'Before we start our work, I would like to say – and you know it – that a civilian aircraft has crashed in the Amur Region today, claiming dozens of lives. I would like to offer condolences and words of sincere sympathy to the families and friends of the victims in this air crash.' Four years ago, on July 6th 2021, Russia experienced another fatal plane crash. All 28 people on board the Antonov-26 died when the aircraft crashed in Palana. Part of the aircraft was found on the Pyatibratka hill, and another part was found in the sea. Due to the challenging landscape of the region, the search and rescue operations were deemed to be difficult - and at one point, operations had to be postponed because of high waves. A three-day mourning period was declared in the region after the tragedy.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Inside Russia's suicide drone factories manned by teenagers
Credit: Zvezda/Russian state owned tv/X Teenagers are helping Russia build Shahed suicide drones as Vladimir Putin ramps up production at a major factory in Tatarstan. The Yelabuga production facility, the largest of its kind in the world, is spearheading efforts to stockpile the weapons to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences with mass aerial bombardments. The footage, recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry's TV channel, is the first detailed look inside the plant. Students and staff are shown on the production line constructing row after row of matt black 'Geran-2' drones, the Russian-built version of the Iranian-designed Shahed 136. Teenagers are reportedly invited to the plant after finishing 9th grade at 15 years old, and most come from the nearby technical college. 'Everywhere you look, there's young people working here,' the voice-over says as the camera pans across what appear to be dozens of teenagers making drone components and working at computers on the bright factory floor. Shahed drones have become instrumental in Putin's plans to relentlessly pound Ukrainian cities and drain morale among the armed forces and terrorised civilians. It came as the Kremlin said on Sunday that achieving its war goals remains Russia's priority ahead of signing a peace deal with Ukraine, despite Donald Trump giving Moscow 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face severe sanctions. European defence officials believe Russia plans to fire thousands of the relatively cheap Shahed drones every night as production increases. The new dark paintwork on the Russian models is believed to reflect an increasing focus on night-time attacks. Other footage released in Russia on Sunday showed the drones being launched from the back of what appear to be new model American-made Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks, seemingly in violation of sanctions. Credit: Zvezda/Russian state owned tv/X The video of the factories emphasised the plant's in-house production lines, showing metal foundries and a blacksmith's workshop, as well as assembly stations and testing facilities. It said Putin had noted the set-up at Yelabuga, suggesting it should be replicated across the country to reduce Russia's dependence on imports for manufacturing. Russia is now believed to be producing more than 5,000 long-range drones a month, with up to 18,000 units built at the Yelabuga plant in the first half of 2025 alone. A Kremlin-linked think tank claimed last month that drone production had jumped by 16.9 per cent in May. More than 500 drones and missiles are regularly fired at Ukraine in night time attacks, and analysts believe the Kremlin is close to being able to pound the country with more than 1,000 in a single day. On July 9, Russia carried out its largest attack yet, with 741 missiles and drones launched at Ukrainian towns and cities. Putin hopes that with repeated onslaughts, he can wear down morale among Ukraine's population, deplete Kyiv's defences and undermine the West's appetite to maintain its support. Geran-2 drones are relatively cheap to produce, costing between £26,000 and £37,200 per unit. Ukraine's western-supplied air defence systems are much more expensive, with a single Patriot missile interceptor costing over £4 million. Christian Freuding, a senior German army officer, warned this week that Ukraine and its allies would need to develop countermeasures costing £1,500 to £3,000 per unit in order for its air defence to be economically viable, given Russia's growing attacks. Mr Freuding also said he believed Russia is aiming to be able to launch 2,000 drones a night at Ukraine, which would pose a serious challenge to air defences. The Yelabuga site was opened in 2023 and is in the Alabuga special economic zone near Kazan, a high-tech manufacturing hub. If needed, drone technology can be shipped directly from Iran via the Caspian Sea as it sits on the Kama River, which flows into the Volga. Though more than 1,000 miles from the Ukrainian border, the facility appears to have been targeted by Kyiv. In June, Russian media reported that one person was killed when intercepted drone debris fell on a checkpoint in the area. The Geran-2 has a total length of 3.5 metres and a wingspan of 2.5 metres. It weighs around 200 kilograms, carries a 50kg warhead and can descend onto targets up to 1,800 kilometres away at speeds of up to 300kmph. Ukraine reported this week that it had shot down its 30,000th Shahed drone, using analysis of a serial number obtained from a fragment of one of the downed munitions.
CBC
22-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Russia touts strike drones made in factory on TV, where teens appear to be working on them
A Russian factory, described by its director as the world's biggest maker of strike drones, has been shown on the Russian army's TV channel with teenagers helping make kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine. The footage, in a documentary film broadcast by the Zvezda channe l on Sunday, showed hundreds of large black completed Geran-2 suicide drones in rows inside the secretive facility, which has been targeted by Ukrainian long-range drones. Ukraine says Russia has used the Geran drones to terrorize and kill civilians in locations including its 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 it denies deliberately targeting civilians — more than 13,000 of whom have been killed in Ukraine since the all-out war began in February 2022 after Russia invaded its neighbour, the United Nations says. Zvezda said the Alabuga factory, in Russia's Tatarstan region, invited school pupils to study at a college that the factory runs nearby once they had completed ninth grade so that they could study drone manufacturing there and then work at the factory when they had finished college. Young workers shown inside factory 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 suggested last month that Russia's drone production had jumped by 16.9 per cent in May compared with the previous month after Russian 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. More and more drones 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 kilometres, 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, near the town of Yelabuga, which is more than 1,000 kilometres from the border with Ukraine.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Inside Russia's suicide drone factories manned by teenagers
Teenagers are helping Russia build Shahed suicide drones as President Vladimir Putin ramps up production at a major factory in Tatarstan, about 800 kilometres east of Moscow. The Yelabuga production facility, the largest of its kind in the world, is spearheading efforts to stockpile the weapons to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences with mass aerial bombardments. The footage, recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry's TV channel, is the first detailed look inside the plant. Students and staff are shown on the production line constructing row after row of matte black Geran-2 drones, the Russian-built version of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136. Teenagers are reportedly invited to the plant after finishing ninth grade at 15 years of age, and most come from the nearby technical college. 'Everywhere you look, there's young people working here,' the voice-over says as the camera pans across what appear to be dozens of teenagers making drone components and working at computers on the bright factory floor. Shahed drones have become instrumental in Putin's plans to relentlessly pound Ukrainian cities and drain morale among the armed forces and terrorised civilians. The Kremlin said on Sunday that achieving its war goals remains Russia's priority ahead of signing a peace deal with Ukraine, despite US President Donald Trump giving Moscow 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face severe sanctions.
