Shocking details are emerging about Russia’s war-ready shadow fleet that makes it an invincible war machine. According to documents from the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR), revealed at the request of RBK-Ukraine, Russia currently (June 2025) has over 1,950 strategic missiles of various types, including ballistic, cruise and supersonic “Kinzhal” missiles.
At the same time, Russia has at its disposal over 10,000 Shahed-136 attack drones and their imitations, composing a massive arsenal that resembles a robot war machine. In detail, Moscow’s stockpile includes:
- Up to 500 9М723 “Iskander-M” ballistic missiles
- Up to 300 9М728/9М729 “Iskander-K” cruise missiles
- Up to 260 Х-101 missiles, launched from Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers
- Up to 280 Х-22/Х-32 missiles from Tu-22M3 bombers
- Over 400 3М-14 “Kalibr” cruise missiles
- Up to 150 Kh-47M2 “Kinzhal” hypersonic ballistic missiles with MiG-31K carriers
- Up to 60 North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles
Industrial production at war rate
The General Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (GUR) notes that the Russian war machine produces up to 195 missiles per month, while on June 15 alone there were more than 6,000 drones of the “Geran-2” (Shahed-136), “Harpia-A1” type and at least 6,000 imitation UAVs on standby.
The same source reports that Russia is already capable of producing up to 170 drones per day, with the aim of increasing this rate to 190 UAVs per day by the end of 2025.
The conclusion is one: the Kremlin is arming itself with geometric progress, preparing a strategic stockpile capable of paralyzing any adversary in no time.
Russia launched 8 missiles and 272 drones against Ukraine between June 20 and 21 – Targeting energy infrastructure in Kremenchuk
In one of the largest attacks in recent weeks, Russia launched 8 missiles and 272 drones against Ukraine overnight, according to a statement from the Press Center of the Aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In detail, the Russian attacks included:
- 2 hypersonic “Kinzhal” missiles (one shot down, the other not located),
- 4 “Kalibr” cruise missiles (one shot down, the other not located),
- 2 “Iskander-K” cruise missiles (both reportedly shot down, but a third “undetected” is also mentioned, causing confusion as to the total number),
- 272 Shahed and imitation drones (140 shot down, 112 suppressed via electronic warfare – REW/РЭБ).
The focus of the attack: Poltava
The main direction of the attack was the Poltava region, where direct hits were recorded in the Kremenchuk municipality, according to the Emergency Management and the Regional Military Command (OVA). “In the Kremenchuk region, direct hits and debris falls on energy infrastructure facilities and open spaces were recorded. Civil Protection forces are on the scene and are working on restoration,” said the head of the region, Volodymyr Kohut.
Japan Reveals Russia’s Secret to Shahed Drone Mass Production – Where’s the Number… 25,000
According to “diplomatic sources in the West and Russia,” as reported by Japanese news network NKH, a total of 25,000 North Korean workers will be sent to Russia’s Shahed factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, in the central Russian republic of Tatarstan, in order to increase production.
While reports about North Korea from these sources and other Japanese and South Korean media outlets are often considered unreliable, the sending of North Korean workers to support the Russian defense sector has long been considered possible by analysts, even corroborating information from Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
Many, skilled workers
North Korea has a significant industrial workforce with a high level of technical education and will benefit economically from remittances, know-how from Russian production lines, and geopolitically from strengthening its neighbor’s military capabilities against common Western adversaries.
Since mid-2022, the Russian defense sector has significantly expanded its capacity to produce single-use unmanned attack aircraft, following initial support from Iran for the licensed production of the Shahed 136. This would allow for attacks with over 1,000 drones to be launched several times a week.
In May, The Economist magazine revealed that production of Shahed 136 drones had increased more than tenfold, from 300 per month to over 100 per day, with Russian industry remaining on track to produce up to 500 aircraft per day.
The successful expansion of drone production reflects efforts being made in many areas of the defense sector to increase production many times over pre-2022 levels.
Annual production of Iskander-M ballistic missile systems and Kh-101 cruise missiles has increased significantly in the past three years, while production of Su-34 fighters has doubled and production of T-90M main battle tanks has tripled.
The Russian defense industry, which had shrunk to a fraction of its Soviet-era size in the 1990s and is still far from fully recovering, has also faced a significant decline in technical training levels, causing problems for the sector in the coming decades.
This makes the influx of skilled North Korean workers, who have not suffered a corresponding decline, extremely valuable.
It is expected that North Korean specialists will take on a much broader role in the Russian defense sector beyond drone production lines.
The revelation about the deployment of North Korean workers to Russian drone production coincides with the announcement by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, that the Korean People’s Army will send 1,000 minefield clearance specialists and 5,000 military engineers to support demining and reconstruction work in the Kursk region, following the withdrawal of the last Ukrainian forces in April.
