A small village in the Bryansk region of Russia, just a few dozen kilometers from the Ukrainian border, recently looked like a typical rural area on satellite images. Now it is a launch site for drones — one of at least ten that Russia has built or expanded along the borders with Ukraine and Belarus.
This is reported in an investigation by The Telegraph, cited by the Czech publication Novinky.cz. Journalists analyzed satellite images, leaked documents, and data from the intelligence company DroneSec. The conclusion is unpleasant for Europe as well: some of the new bases are located so that the longest-range Russian drones can reach Warsaw from there. For Ukrainians living in Slovakia, this means the war they fled is physically approaching the borders of the EU and NATO — at least within the weapon's range.
What exactly was found in the images
The main finding — 59 new launch rails along the borders. These are mechanical catapults that replace a runway: a heavy fixed-wing drone can be launched from an unprepared position, basically from a field.
About 20 rails have an extended design — analysts estimate they are intended for new long-range jet models.
Some sites were converted from active military bases and civilian airports, the rest were built from scratch in rural areas.
One base has storage facilities that can hold over 1,000 strike drones simultaneously. The scale of the warehouse infrastructure suggests preparation for a prolonged intense air campaign.
Open-source monitoring confirms: seven out of ten bases were already used during massive strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, writes Ukrinform.
Why the new drones are dangerous
These are upgraded versions of Iranian "Shahed" — jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5. The turbojet engine accelerates them to 500-600 km/h, making it much harder for mobile air defense fire groups to intercept such a target. The Geran-5 flies up to 1000 km and carries a warhead weighing 90 kg.
Separately, the warning from Ukrainian military intelligence HUR is alarming: Russians have started equipping Geran drones with air-to-air missiles so the drones can attack planes protecting Kyiv.
Main production is concentrated in the special economic zone Alabuga in Tatarstan. According to Ukrainian intelligence, as of August 2026, the capacity there allows producing about 3,000 drones per month.
What this means for Slovakia
The investigation found no direct threat to Slovak territory — The Telegraph emphasizes there is no evidence of preparations for an attack on NATO. But two points are worth understanding.
First — geography. The 1000 km range from the new launch sites covers not only all of Ukraine but also a significant part of Central Europe, including the Polish capital. Slovakia, which borders Ukraine and is a NATO member, is in this same potential reach zone.
Second — warnings from Western intelligence. They have signaled more than once that Moscow may consider provocations on Polish territory: strikes on critical infrastructure or false-flag operations that try to blame Ukraine.
