President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed Decree No. 423/2025 introducing new sanctions against the Russian Federation. The restrictions apply to individuals and companies involved in the production of Shahed drones.
The list includes 52 citizens of the Russian Federation and 34 legal entities that are tax residents of Russia. Among them are enterprises and their managers that cooperate with the production facilities of the special economic zone “Alabuga” and supply components, equipment and materials for the manufacture of Shahed drones.
The sanctions also cover suppliers of industrial equipment for Russian military-industrial complex enterprises, transport companies, telecommunications companies and chemical industries with ties to the defense sector of the Russian Federation.
Shahed are Iranian-made barrage munitions widely used by Russia in the war against Ukraine. They are characterized by simplicity of design, low cost and the ability to hit targets at a long distance. Since 2022, Russia has started to localize their production.
The main center for the production of Shahed drones on the territory of the Russian Federation is the special economic zone “Alabuga” in Tatarstan. In 2023, production capacity was significantly increased there, in particular, five new workshops were built for the production of UAVs, some of which were equipped with protective systems against attacks by Ukrainian drones.
In July 2023, Russia officially launched its own production of Shahed-136, adapted under the name “Geranium-2”. According to the GUR, as of mid-May 2025, the Russian Federation produces about 170 such drones every day, including decoy models (“Gerbera-2”, “Parody”). By the end of 2025, it is planned to increase the daily production volume to 190 units.
