Ukrainian military intelligence said a Russian Shahed-136 drone warehouse became engulfed in a “devastating” fire that destroyed $16 million worth of drone parts imported from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, according to a Telegram post by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR).
The Yelabuga drone factory, located more than 800 miles from the border with Ukraine in Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, produces Shahed drones for Moscow’s military, which are Iranian kamikaze drones.
A Ukrainian officer examines a downed Shahed drone. In a recent strike, Ukraine reportedly destroyed $16 million worth of drone parts after striking a warehouse with Shahed drones.
Ukraine’s strike on the warehouse is significant because the destruction of $16 million worth of drone parts comes as Moscow faces an equipment shortage that hit a two-year high in terms of losses in November.
The strike is also one of many hits Kyiv has conducted on Russia’s ammunition storage and arms production sites as it seeks to weaken Moscow’s ability to continue fighting.
Ukraine noted that the warehouse contained “65 fuselages of attack drones, as well as engines, navigation systems, and thermal imaging cameras for the production of 400 units of the Shahed-136” and wrote that “everything burned down.” Kyiv also described the fire as “mysterious,” not giving further details.
Launched in July of last year, the Yelabuga drone factory has produced Albatross reconnaissance drones in addition to Russian equivalents of Shahed drones, and Ukraine previously struck the factory in April, as reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Russia has repeatedly used Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in its strikes throughout its war with Ukraine and began attaching devices to them to increase the impact of their hits in November. Moscow added thermobaric warheads to the kamikaze drones, which were also equipped with Russian Kometa navigation units and Chinese control boards.
In its post, the GUR wrote: “The mysterious devastating fire was another blow to the military-industrial complex of terrorist Russia.”
They added: “The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s General Directorate of Military Intelligence reminds that there will be fair retribution for every war crime committed against the Ukrainian people.”
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