Russia's latest attack on Kyiv aided by Alabuga SEZ- drone manufacture program

The latest attack on Ukraine where more than 23 people including four children were killed came at a time European media had been reporting Russia’s increased drone manufacture under its Special Economic Zone program that uses labor sought through entrapment and other unorthodox methods.

The near-slave program that operates by ensnaring youths from third world countries in Africa, the Indian Sub-continent and South America has been running under a program that The Standard has previously reported described by Moscow as Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) established in the Tatarstan Republic.

The program, running under the name Alabuga Start according to  European Investigative journalists, has been aiding Moscow’s drive to increase its drones manufacture capacity, especially the infamous Iranian-designed Geran-2 drones.

By Friday morning Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 598 drones and 31 missiles into the country overnight, of which 563 drones and 26 missiles were shot down or suppressed. The impact was reported across 13 locations, the air force said, with falling debris reported in 26 locations

Friday was set aside as a day of mourning in Ukraine following the unfortunate attack happening at a time the world awaits a meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.

Trump has sought to bring the two leaders together, but he said on Friday 22^nd "that's like oil and vinegar... they don't get along too well". BBC reported

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Putin was ready to meet Ukraine's leader "when the agenda is ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all", accusing Zelensky of saying "no to everything".

The following day Zelensky accused Russia of "doing everything it can" to prevent a meeting with Vladimir Putin to try to end the war.

The National News Agency of Ukraine, Ukrinform said Friday “Today is a day of mourning in Kyiv to commemorate those killed in the massive attack on August 28”.  Ukrinform that is also an international broadcaster of Ukraine, said, “flags are flying at half-mast on all municipal buildings in the city of Kyiv. In addition, it is recommended that state flags be flown at half-mast on state-owned and privately owned buildings”.

Days preceding the latest attack which could be one of the most massive since Russia’s war on Ukraine took the turn of attrition, judged by the number of drones dispatched, European investigative journalists had been reporting increased activities of drone manufacture in the Tatarstan Republic that hosts factories that operate with the Alabuga SEZ program

On August 9th, UNITED24 reported that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) had targeted a storage site for Shahed drones in Kyzyl-Yul, Tatarstan using long-range drones earlier that day, and that Alabuga SEZ had been affected by the attack. Three days later the Kyiv Independent on August 12 reported that the SBU had targeted the same facility in Kyzyl-Yul a second time and run footage reportedly showing the strike.

Earlier on July 21st, Reuters published details of a documentary recently released by Zvezda a Russian state-owned nationwide television network which showed teenagers working at a drone factory at Alabuga SEZ, which manufactures the Iranian-designed Geran-2 drones.

The documentary openly described how the factory invites teenagers to attend a college run by it nearby where they learn how to build drones which gives them skills that will allow them to work at the factory after they leave college. The general director of the factory, Timur Shagivaleyev, was interviewed in the documentary and boasted about increase in drone production numbers.

The Institute of Science and International Security shared screenshots from the Zvezda documentary which showed young African women building drones at Alabuga SEZ. This contradicts the recruitment and promotional materials for Alabuga Start which fail to mention that participants will be employed at the drone factory and instead highlight opportunities for jobs in the hospitality industry or construction.

Release of the documentary by Zvezda demonstrated how the Russian government had actively chosen to publicize drone manufacturing at Alabuga SEZ which it had previously avoided, Said European investigative journalists on their revealing website Alabuga truth

On July 22nd, The Guardian reported findings from an investigation by the Insider, an exiled Russian news outlet, which detailed systematic efforts by the Russian government to involve children in the design and testing of drones for the war effort in Ukraine. These efforts include a video-game based competition designed to headhunt teenagers to work in Russia’s defence companies. The article quoted several teenagers, interviewed by The Insider, who had been involved in one of the competitions and described how they were encouraged to hide the competitions associations to the war effort

On July 25th, CNN published further detail regarding the Zvezda documentary on Alabuga SEZ, including how Russian children during summer camps organized by “Russian Student Brigades” are used at Alabuga SEZ. The article detailed Zvezda’s interview with the general director of the factory, Timur Shagivaleyev boasting about the self-sufficiency and expansion that the process of producing drones at Alabuga SEZ had expanded. The article quoted several experts who provided further detail on the expansion and suggested that expanding Alabuga SEZ could be part of Russian plans to export drones. Shagivaleyev had previously in 2024 been sanctioned by the US treasury department for his involvement in the exploitation of underage students to manufacture drones.

On July 28th, the Institute of Science and International Security (ISIS) published a report outlining major developments at Alabuga SEZ which indicated significant expansion in Russian military drone production. The report analyzed satellite imagery of the site and detailed drone production plans, new residential buildings, summer camps for children and the appearance of a tent city linked to the camps.