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New Drone Launch Hub in Oryol Expands Russia’s Drone Threat Against Ukraine
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Russian forces are continuing to build what appears to be a Shahed drone launch site in Russia’s Oryol region, according to Atesh on April 11.
The resistance movement reported that its agents are still monitoring the facility in the city of Oryol, which it believes Russian troops likely use to launch Shahed-type attack drones.
Atesh noted that it had previously documented heightened activity at the site and now assesses the area as an active part of Russia’s strike infrastructure.
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“Today we can confirm that permanent concrete warehouses for the storage and preparation of Shaheds for launch are being built at the site,” Atesh wrote, adding that construction activity and the movement of troops and transport “do not stop.”
The group added that the target's coordinates had already been passed on to Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
According to the group, construction crews have begun erecting permanent concrete storage facilities for the preparation and storage of drones before launch.
Atesh also reported continued movement of personnel and vehicles in and around the site, adding that the pace of work suggests the facility is being upgraded or expanded rather than merely maintained.
Atesh stated it would continue monitoring the site and documenting changes there, describing the intelligence transfer as part of efforts to weaken Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians.
The construction also aligns with earlier reports that Russia has been widening its network of drone-launch sites. According to winter reports, Russia is about to set up a new strike-drone launch site near the village of Asovytsia in Russia’s Bryansk region, about 35 kilometers from Ukraine’s border.
Militarnyi analysts said the site was already used overnight from January 4 to January 5 and could cut flight time to Ukrainian airspace to as little as 20 minutes.
Russia had been expanding its drone-launch infrastructure since October 2025, with new sites identified in temporarily occupied Crimea, temporarily occupied Donetsk region, Rostov region, and Bryansk region of Russia.
