Shahed factory in Tatarstan hit, says Ukrainian intel, yet satellite images show no damage

Ukraine’s attack on the factory to produce Iranian-designed Shahed drones in Tatarstan has led to “great destruction” at the plant, Ukrainian intelligence representative Andriy Yusov said on air of Ukraine’s national broadcast.

The strike is one of Ukraine’s latest attempts to strike military targets deep in Russian territory with homemade weapons amid a ban on using western weapons for such strikes.

“According to early data, a factory that assembled Shahed drones was struck. There is significant damage to production facilities there, and it is difficult to continue the company’s operations,” he said.

However, satellite images analyzed by RFE/RL appear to refute Yusov’s claims. The drone assembly shop was not damaged as a result of the strike, it follows from a comparison of satellite images from previous days.

This corresponds to reports from OSINT analyst Benjamin Pittet, who noted that only the dormitories were damaged.

The explosion seen in the videos being shared wasn’t at the drone factory. The drone production is in the two buildings on the left. https://t.co/5CQKJSdrbY pic.twitter.com/4hXbnfAu5e

— Benjamin Pittet (@COUPSURE) April 2, 2024

Yusov refrained from comments about the type of drones, a source of speculation after the 2 April strike in Russia’s Tatarstan region 1,200 km from Ukraine’s border, RBC reported, citing the national broadcast. However, an earlier report by Forbes speculated that the strike could have been carried out with Cessna-style small planes packed with explosives with added remote controls.

Additionally, Russians had recovered the wreckage of the Liutyi drone, a Ukrainian-produced unmanned aircraft behind numerous Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, in an attack on a nearby oil refinery.

Russians recovering the wreckage of the Ukrainian drone Liutyi after an attack on a refinery in Tatarstan

Read more about Ukraine's long-range one-way attack drone Liutyi in our recent article: https://t.co/GhxwzIrF2d

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