On the Ozon e-commerce platform, one of Russia's largest, offers are appearing for a hand-launched “toy plane” that replicates the design of Iran's long-range drone — the same type of device that last week struck a daycare center with 48 children in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The suicide drone replica is recommended for children aged three and up and described as “an ideal gift for young patriots and future conquerors of the skies”, touted as having benefits for developing “co-ordination, precision and imagination”.
The site — sometimes called the “Amazon of Russia” — also has an adult version, equipped with a firework that explodes on impact. In the promotional clips included in the announcements, a hand is seen launching the glider, and the firework placed on top of it activates on impact, mimicking the 30–50 kg explosive charge of a real Shahed drone.
Toys sold by “Stalin's Falcons”
The children's model is listed at 351 rubles (£3.29) and the adult version at around 480 rubles (£4.50). The toys appear to be marketed as branded products of a Russian drone unit called “Stalin's Falcons,” a name inspired by elite Russian fighter pilots of World War II and using the same nostalgic socialist realist iconography.
Stalin's Falcons could not be reached to confirm the link to the products, but the team's official Telegram channel has links to Ozon where the toys are listed, as well as other products with the team's logo, including apparel.
Authentic Shahed drones, which have become the quintessential symbol of kamikaze attacks, are about 3.5 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and weigh around 200 kg.
The packaging of the toy reproductions appears to be identical in design to that used on the “Stalin's Falcons” website, which also publishes job offers in the Russian armed forces, suggesting the possibility that these toys are part of a wider effort to militarize children.
One of the ads promises the opportunity to become “NATO's air defense nightmare” as a drone pilot, with a salary of 960,500 rubles (£9,000) a month, and lower-skilled jobs — electricians and mechanics — are also advertised.
“Delightful” reviews
The Telegraph was unable to obtain the product for physical verification, but reviews published on Ozon between October 23 and 25 contain images of the packaging and the product, apparently after delivery. One buyer, signing Rinat T, declared himself “delighted” with the “quality and lethality”. Other users, writing anonymously, called it “a cool toy” and joked that the product “scared the couriers into thinking it was real”.
In the question section, some buyers ask for larger models, “for a more authentic flight”. Others ask when the models of Ukrainian cities will appear, so that the little pilots “can practice more realistic attacks”.
One user went even further, writing: “When are you putting the Kiev model on sale?”
The address associated with the product is in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, an industrial plant in the republic of Tatarstan in southern Russia that is home to one of the largest drone factories in the country — producing thousands of Shaheds annually and plywood and foam replicas. The factory has been accused of using child labor and its director, Timur Shaghivaleev, has been sanctioned by the US Treasury department in connection with the “exploitation of minors” for the assembly of UAVs.
Hundreds of promotional photos and recruitment clips posted on Telegram by Politehnica Alabuga show teenagers working at the factory, where they are trained in programming and production by Shahed. Students are recruited for apprenticeships after the ninth grade (ages 14–15) and, according to journalistic estimates, would earn around 35,000 rubles (£330) per month.
A joint report by the independent publications Protokol and Razvorot in 2023 claimed that the teenagers were subjected to harsh working conditions and harsh treatment by staff. The “Stalin's Falcons” unit is believed to have links to the Alabuga production plant, but the exact nature of this link is unclear.
The Alabuga Special Economic Zone did not respond to The Telegraph's inquiries regarding its relationship with products sold online.
Instead, Ozon stated: “Ozon sells a wide range of consumer goods to the public. We do not specialize in and sell military products.” The company said that any seller can offer products on the platform, as long as the sale is not prohibited by Russian law, and that it verifies compliance certificates and necessary documents for all goods, especially those intended for children. In the case of flammable products, such as fireworks, safety certificates are required, and for real-time verification it uses algorithmic monitoring of promotion sites and removes the product from the site if the seller cannot confirm the quality or safety.
Shortly after The Telegraph contacted the platform, one of the three listings — the toy airplane with fireworks for adults — was pulled, with the company saying it was carrying out “further document checks as per standard procedure”, but the toy replica of Shahed, aimed at children aged 3 and up, was available on sales website Ozon.
