Russia’s defense industry is producing around 3,000 Geran-4 and Geran-5 kamikaze drones per month, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (DIU) told Militarnyi in an inquiry published Wednesday, Aug. 12. According to the Militarnyi, the serial production of the drones has been established at a facility in Russia’s Yelabuga, within the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, while other Russian companies supply components for the production chain.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. The growing use of the drones is linked to improvements in their flight characteristics, particularly their ability to overcome Ukrainian air defenses, according to the DIU. Russia expands production in Tatarstan Despite the current production rate, Russia’s Defense Ministry is seeking to further expand manufacturing capacity at Alabuga. Large-scale construction of new facilities was observed at the special economic zone in July 2026, according to satellite imagery cited by Militarnyi. Construction reportedly began in May, although the exact purpose of the new buildings remains unclear. The expansion comes as Russia prepares to increase its use of jet-powered attack drones. In June, then-Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said jet-powered drones could eventually account for 50% of Russia’s attack UAVs used in attacks against Ukraine. The latest DIU information provided to Militarnyi supports the assessment that Russia is increasing production of jet-powered variants of the Geran drone family.