Plus 340 hectares. How the special economic zone "Alabuga" expanded over the year, where strike drones are produced.

      The territory of the special economic zone "Alabuga" in Tatarstan has expanded by 340 hectares over the past year. As evidenced by a comparison of satellite images from May 2025 and May 2026, the construction of new hangars continues in the northern part of the zone; additionally, new residential and production facilities were completed in its central part over the year. Northern part of the SEZ "Alabuga": on the left, an image taken in May 2026, on the right — in May 2025:

      According to satellite images, just recently — in April 2026 — active construction work also began on a territory of more than 450 hectares south of the SEZ "Alabuga," on the other side of the nearby federal highway M-12 "Vostok." The images also show another road being constructed, which leads from this highway to the special economic zone. Southern part of the SEZ "Alabuga": on the left, an image taken in May 2026, on the right — in May 2025:

      The special economic zone "Alabuga" is the main production site for the strike drones "Geran," designed based on Iranian "Shaheds." Every night, Russian military forces launch between 100 to 400-600 of these drones over Ukraine, which have been significantly improved compared to their Iranian "progenitors" and even, according to sources from the Associated Press, were re-exported to Iran after the start of the war in the Middle East. In February 2026, Radio Free Europe discovered that at least 19 towers for countering air attacks were deployed in the territory of the SEZ "Alabuga." They are presumably equipped with heavy machine guns; however, recently near "Alabuga," OSINT analysts also noticed the first tower for the "Pantsir" anti-aircraft missile system — similar to those on which these air defense systems are installed around Moscow and Vladimir Putin's residence in Valdai. The SEZ "Alabuga" has already been attacked several times by Ukrainian drones: for example, on April 2, 2024, April 23, and June 15, 2025, but they did not cause significant damage to the enterprises located on its territory.

      Tower for "Pantsir" near the SEZ "Alabuga"

      For the production of "Geran," Russia is actively recruiting students through the "Alabuga Polytechnic" college, as well as migrants from various countries around the world. On May 5, 2026, the UK imposed sanctions against 35 legal entities and individuals from Russia involved in such recruitment. On April 26, the gaming platform Twitch blocked the accounts of streamers who were broadcasting from the Counter-Strike 2 championship at "Alabuga Polytechnic" and advertising the college. The reason for the blocks was that the venue for the championship, which the accounts were broadcasting from, is under EU sanctions. As Radio Free Europe discovered in February during its own investigation, the special economic zone "Alabuga" is closely linked to the UAV operators' unit "Stalin's Falcons." On May 3, 2026, the publication "Agency" reported that a Russian citizen, Artem Revenetsky, worked in the SEZ "Alabuga" as a "chief specialist," who was arrested in the USA on charges of involvement in hacking critical systems of oil and gas infrastructure, including in the USA and Ukraine. In early May, Revenetsky pleaded guilty to all charges and could face a sentence of up to 27 years in prison. In 2024, Russia launched nearly 11,000 strike drones over Ukraine. In 2025, this number increased several times: according to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian military forces attacked Ukraine with more than 50,000 drones, of which nearly 30,000 were launched from the SEZ "Alabuga" and in Izhevsk, modified versions of Iranian "Shaheds." The fact that drones are produced in "Alabuga" is not hidden in Russia. The connection between "Alabuga Polytechnic" college and the special economic zone is considered confirmed. In July 2025, a broadcast from the Russian TV channel "Zvezda" (which is affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Defense) reported that the SEZ "Alabuga" has established serial production of "Geran" drones. The TV channel showed the scale of assembly work involving college students. In the report from "Zvezda," the general director of the SEZ "Alabuga," Timur Shagivaleev, stated that the factory produces "thousands" of drones, and students from "Alabuga Polytechnic" are involved in the work. The footage shows young employees, many of whom appear to be teenagers, assembling parts. Original publication: Radio Free Europe Subscribe to our channel on Telegram.