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Russia Admits Its Air Defenses Cannot Shield Vast Industrial Empire From Ukrainian Drone Strikes
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russia cannot provide comprehensive air defense coverage for its vast industrial infrastructure, with many of the country’s largest factories and production complexes too extensive to be fully protected against Ukrainian drone strikes.
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Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), acknowledged these limitations, according to Russian state news agency TASS on October 17. He explained that the scale and layout of Soviet-era industrial facilities present significant challenges for Russia’s air defense systems.
Many of Russia’s largest industrial enterprises were originally designed during the Soviet period with the possibility of nuclear war in mind. Production facilities were deliberately spread across large areas to reduce the risk of an entire industrial complex being destroyed in a single attack.
However, the same design principles have created vulnerabilities in modern warfare, particularly as Ukraine continues using long-range drones to strike industrial and military-related infrastructure deep inside Russian territory.
Metallurgical plants, chemical factories, and other major industrial facilities can stretch across several kilometers, making it difficult to establish comprehensive protection over their entire territory.
Shokhin noted that Soviet planners placed individual workshops far apart to improve the chances of maintaining production following a nuclear strike. While this approach offered certain advantages, it also required extensive infrastructure connecting different sections of industrial complexes.
These dispersed facilities now present a major challenge for Russia, as protecting individual production buildings does not necessarily guarantee the security of the wider industrial site.
The acknowledgment comes amid Ukraine’s continuing campaign of long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries, military production facilities, airfields, chemical plants, and other strategically important infrastructure.
In September, five Russian oil refineries, including the Moscow Oil Refinery, suspended processing operations following damage and fires.
On October 18, Ukrainian drones also struck the Petersburg Oil Terminal, triggering a fire, while separate attacks targeted a VKontakte data center and electrical infrastructure in the surrounding Leningrad region.
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