- Category
- Latest news
Ukraine’s Drone Raids Force Moscow Into Desperate Defenses at Yelabuga Shahed Plant
- Authors
![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
After a string of Ukrainian drone strikes on the Shahed drone assembly plant in Yelabuga, Russia has begun erecting defensive towers fitted with Pantsir air-defense systems, but even these improvised fortifications are unlikely to save the facility, the Atesh partisan group stated on August 26.
Russian authorities in Tatarstan have launched an unusual construction near the Yelabuga drone plant, where Shahed-136 suicide drones are manufactured. The new structures include special towers topped with Pantsir anti-aircraft modules.
Partisans argue this is a clear sign that previous Ukrainian strikes caused significant damage to the facility, forcing the Kremlin to take desperate measures to protect what has become a key site in Russia’s campaign of terror against Ukraine.
Moscow, they note, is well aware that further Ukrainian strikes could paralyze production and disrupt the flow of Shahed drones to the Russian military.
“The truth is that no improvised towers or Pantsirs can save the plant from new attacks. Every day the production line remains at risk, and with it the entire supply chain of drones Moscow uses to terrorize Ukraine’s civilian population,” Atesh stated.
The facility has been hit multiple times this year. On April 23, explosions were reported in the Yelabuga district of Tatarstan, followed by another attack on April 26.
Later, on May 26, unidentified drones once again struck the city. Residents described heavy air-defense activity during the raid, while the nearby airport in Nizhnekamsk was shut down.
-1afe8933c743567b9dae4cc5225a73cb.png)
After that, the facility was hit once again on June 15. Videos circulating online appeared to show UAVs in flight, air defense activity, and a subsequent fire. Russian officials have not commented on the incident.
The Atesh movement, which has claimed infiltration of the plant itself, described the new defenses as “towers of despair,” calling them evidence of the Kremlin’s panic.
“This is direct confirmation that Ukrainian drone strikes have already dealt serious damage to the plant, and Russian authorities are scrambling to shield their so-called ‘factory of death,’” the group said.
The partisans also urged anyone with information about Russian air-defense installations or military facilities to share it with them, promising rewards for reliable intelligence.
“The Kremlin may keep building new towers and covering plants with Pantsirs, but it will not save them from retribution. For every Shahed launched, a just strike will follow,” Atesh declared.
Earlier, long-range drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) targeted a logistics hub in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan on the morning of August 9.
The facility, located in the settlement of Kzyl-Yul about 1,300 kilometers from Ukraine, was used to store Shahed drones ready for deployment as well as foreign-made components. The strike was carried out by the SBU’s Special Operations Center “A.”
