Russian Billionaires Ask Putin for Heavy Weapons and Lasers to Fight Ukrainian Drones

Faced with a relentless and increasingly deep-penetrating Ukrainian drone campaign, Russia’s top business lobby has appealed directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin for heavy weaponry, electronic warfare systems, and dedicated military reservists to protect private industrial facilities, The Moscow Times reported on May 26.

During a Kremlin meeting, Alexander Shokhin—head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), which represents the country’s wealthiest oligarchs and billionaires—warned that existing light security measures are no longer sufficient to stop the attacks.

“Large enterprises, of course, care about protecting their facilities and the territories where the companies are present. But some issues require regulation,” Shokhin told Putin, according to the Kremlin’s press service. “They are related to the mechanisms for providing weaponry—not just light weapons of 7.62 caliber, but also larger calibers. This includes various EW [electronic warfare] systems, laser installations, and other calibers,” according to The Moscow Times.

Shokhin also asked the Kremlin to lock down specific military reservists to guard high-value industrial targets. Under a law passed late last year, businesses can deploy reservists for security, but Shokhin complained that constant military reassignments have made consistent site defense impossible. “It often happens that these reservists are in one place today, and in another tomorrow. Just as they begin taking over an object, new tasks arise,” he stated.

The unprecedented plea from Russia’s financial elite underscores the staggering economic toll of Ukraine’s long-range strikes. Last year alone, Russian oil companies suffered an estimated 1 trillion rubles ($11 billion) in losses as dozens of refineries were knocked offline across the country, The Moscow Times noted. By the spring of 2026, the reach of Ukrainian strike drones had expanded to encompass a quarter of all Russian territory, repeatedly penetrating deep into the Ural Mountains to strike critical infrastructure in cities like Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, and Perm.

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War in Ukraine

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The state’s inability to protect its own industrial heartland has sparked immense frustration within the Kremlin, leading to high-level military purges. In early May, following a wave of drone strikes that embarrassed the regime and forced a scaled-back Victory Day parade in Moscow, Putin abruptly dismissed General Viktor Afzalov, who had commanded the Russian Aerospace Forces—and overseen air defense—since 2023. Afzalov was replaced by Colonel General Aleksandr Chaiko, the former commander of the Eastern Military District, The Moscow Times wrote.

The growing panic among Russia’s financial elite echoes the acceleration of Ukraine’s domestic deep-strike capabilities. Ukrainian defense company Fire Point had recently announced major upgrades to its FP-2 long-range drone, re-engineering the platform to carry a massive 200-kilogram warhead up to 370 kilometers. Chief designer Denys Shtilerman described the modernized UAV as a highly cost-effective alternative to guided aerial bombs, specifically tailored to bypass Russian electronic warfare networks.

By shifting to entirely domestic engines and components to cut production costs, Ukrainian manufacturers are rapidly scaling up multi-role platforms capable of carrying unguided rockets and smaller FPV interceptor drones—rendering Russia’s industrial heartland increasingly defenseless.

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