Russia can afford continuous barrages of ‘Shaheds’ against Ukraine — Le Monde

Russia is now capable of launching continuous barrages of “Shahed” drones against Ukraine, as it has significantly ramped up its own production and is no longer dependent on Iran.

This was reported by Le Monde.

In just the first two weeks of June, Russia launched around 3,000 of these drones at Ukraine—about 10% of the total launched over the 3.5 years of the war, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

These drones are being assembled in Tatarstan by the hands of hundreds of young African women, mainly from Uganda, Mali, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and South Sudan. They are promised wages of €426–681, which is significantly higher than what they would earn at home, and are offered a “unique opportunity to change their lives.” They are not told in advance what exactly they will be producing.

A new logistics center has been built next to the factory. It receives machine tools, engines, electronic components, and polymers delivered by rail from China.

Earlier, Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) reported that the Russians are capable of producing up to 170 drones per day, and the Kremlin plans to increase daily UAV production to 190 units by the end of this year.