A drone strike reportedly hit the Shahed drone factory in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, marking another attack on a key military facility located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. The plant produces Shahed-type kamikaze drones used in daily attacks against Ukraine and has previously been struck multiple times since its construction in 2023.

Russian news Telegram channel Astra reported the attack around 23:15 on 25 May:

“In Tatarstan, a drone attack is presumed, according to channels from the city of Yelabuga,” Astra wrote.

Militarnyi says the first explosions were registered around 22:40 and were initially linked to Russian air defense activity. Then explosions of unknown origin were heard in the area of the Shahed factory. Footage recorded by local residents shows the trail of a surface-to-air missile launched from the area of the facility.

Ukrainian Telegram channel Exillenova+ claimed that, preliminarily, there were several impacts at different points of the plant, based on geolocation of available footage.

As of this morning, Tatarstan authorities have issued no official statements regarding the outcomes or consequences of the strike. At the time of reporting, no official Ukrainian statements on the attack had been released, and the extent of the damage remains unknown.

During the drone attack, the Nizhnekamsk airport in Tatarstan was temporarily closed, as noted by Astra.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that a total of 96 Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over Russia overnight, including one in Tatarstan.

Previous attacks on Shahed factory

The drone plant previously faced attacks on 23 April 2025. The first drone strike on the Shahed factory occurred in April 2024. The earlier attacks featured insignificant damage to nearby infrastructure, such as a two-story building, reportedly part of a hostel for workers in the Alabuga economic zone.