Russia Plans to Launch Domestic Production of Iranian Drones, Ukrainian Officials Say

Russia is planning to establish a domestic production line of Iranian kamikaze drones, according to a top Ukrainian official, potentially giving them a plentiful supply of the weapons which have played a large role in the Kremlin’s ongoing attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities.  

 Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said Ukrainian intelligence had already determined where possible production sites could be.

 "One of the cities, where they plan to set up the production factory is Togliatti. Although there are also other cities,” he said during the national TV marathon on Sunday.

 "Our intelligence works flawlessly, and we understand in advance what steps they are planning to take. "

 Danilov also noted he wasn't aware as to how Russia would launch the production of drones whilst the country continues to suffer a shortage of necessary components due to international sanctions.

 "What they [Russians] will assemble their drones from is a big question," he said.

 The Russian Army is actively using Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 kamikaze drones in Ukraine, which they renamed "Geran-1" and "Geran-2".

 As reported, Moscow has already received the second batch of Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones – about 250 units. The first batch included about 400 drones.

 The contract concluded between Russia and Iran reportedly involves the supply of 1,700 drones in total.

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 Russia's plans to launch the production of Iranian drones on its territory were previously reported by The Washington Post. According to the publication, Russian and Iranian officials reached agreement on production in early November 2022.

 In January 2023, CNN reported that 40 of the 52 components of the Shahed-136 were manufactured by 13 different companies in the U.S.

 The remaining 12 were made in Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, and China.