GUR attacked a factory assembling Shaheds in Russia: what is known about this production and what does Tinder have to do with it

On the night of April 2, drones attacked the territory of an enterprise located in the city of Yelabuga in Tatarstan. Later, sources in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that they were responsible for conducting the special operationand that the attacked enterprise was producing drones, UNN reported. 

The enterprise in question is located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. As early as July 2023, the publications Protocol and the RZVRT YouTube channel published a joint investigation into this economic zone and the possible production of Iranian drones there. 

As noted in the article, Alabuga was a successful SEZ, and in 2015 it was even recognized as the best special economic zone in Europe by the Financial Times. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, a large number of foreign companies that had signed contracts with Alabuga refused to cooperate and the economic zone began to experience technical and financial problems.

Investigators pointed out that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov visited Alabuga in November 2022. Officially, it was to restart automotive production, but in reality, he was there to organize the production of Shahed. The article says that in this way, Alabuga decided to "pay off" the mobilization of its employees and compensate for the losses from harsh Western sanctions.

An entire settlement for the "Shahed" collection

According to journalists, the contract with Iran was estimated at 115-130 billion rubles (up to 1.45 billion dollars). Components for the kamikaze drones were supplied from Iran, and the company in Tatarstan only assembled them. In some internal documents, the Shah's are called "boats" and Iran is called "Belarus." Also, according to the agreement, "specialists" from Alabuga are trained in Iran, and Tehran transfers to Russia the plans, a list of equipment, design documentation, technological maps, etc.

According to the 2023 investigation, it was planned to reduce the number of components from Iran in the future. Some of the components were to be replaced with those that Russia was to produce itself, and some were to be purchased on... AliExpress.

The Russian components, which were assumed in the investigation, were supposed to be produced around 2024 and in the same Alabuga.  

For some time, Russia was supposed to receive only the combat part of the drones from Iran, but then it hopes to establish its own production.

The authors of the article, citing internal documents and their sources, reported that Albatros, AviatestAero, SuperCam, and Alabuga may be involved in the production of drones and their components, and the money for the project was probably provided by VTB Bank CEO Andrey Kostin. In December 2022, VTB launched a money transfer service to Iran, and in May 2023, it became known that the bank had opened an office in the country.

Investigators then concluded that Alabuga had set up an "unprecedented Iranian drone production facility" on a hangar the size of six football fields. 

"According to one of our sources, the assembly efficiency should eventually exceed Iran's by ten times, and the area of the hangars will exceed 100 thousand square meters. This will be, in essence, a separate village exclusively engaged in the production of drones for the Russian army," the authors claim.

Minors from Africa are involved in the production of "Shahed" 

Interestingly, investigators later learned that even minors were involved in assembling the drones. These were students of the Alabuga Polytechnic College. 

Initially, according to the journalists' source, the work involved mostly teenagers aged 15-17 who entered college after the ninth grade. Later, students of all years of study began assembling drones.

The salaries of the students involved in assembling the drones depended on the fulfillment of the plan - on average, it was an amount in the region of 30-40 thousand rubles. They were paid officially. At the same time, students said that they were not paid extra for overtime and weekend work. Some complained that sometimes they had to work for several days in a row without sleep and almost no food.

Those involved in the assembly of drones are forbidden to talk about what they do under threat of expulsion. This was allegedly stated in the contract. For violation, the student had to pay a fine of 1.5 to 2 million rubles. 

Also, according to journalists, underage female students from Africa were involved in the production of drones. The investigation indicates that girls from Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Pakistan were persuaded to enroll in college by finding them through dating apps such as Tinder and Badoo. 

"The girls are involved in low-skilled work, such as mopping floors and cleaning up garbage in the workshops, the investigators say. There are three types of staffing table that the journalists have at their disposal: "mulattoes," "Tajiks" and "specialists," the investigation said. 

What is known about the Russian-made Shakhtys 

On the night of December 22, 2023, the aggressor used Shaheed 136 attack UAVs, parts and fragments of which were marked with the "Y" series - a transitional version of the weapon, which was probably assembled in Russia. This was the conclusion reached by experts of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise. 

According to Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, foreign-made components were found in these drones.

"A significant amount of microelectronics from the objects of investigation after the relevant events is in a condition unsuitable for expert analysis due to physical destruction. At the same time, unfortunately, the components traditionally identified are not of Russian origin, namely: USA, Canada and Japan. We will have a full report upon completion of the examination," Ruvin said.

He also said that the Russians had begun to leave signatures on the inside of the UAV's hull.

"The Russians' "innovation" was the signatures on the elements of the Shaheed 136. Literally, we can assume that this is a kind of report from the person responsible for preparing the assembly of a particular part of the drone. The "packers" leave their "autographs" on the inside of the drone's body. We sincerely hope that such a "modern" technology will eventually help to identify and bring Russian criminals to justice faster," Ruvin said at the time. 

Experts also found that in order to hide the markings on certain components of the drones and make it difficult for experts to identify the country of manufacture, the Russians use mechanical or laser erasure.  Mechanical erasures were found on the chips of the navigation and control systems in the Shahed 136.