Ukraine Shifts Focus to Russian Drone Factories in New Strike Strategy

By launching large-scale strikes on legitimate military targets inside Russia, Ukraine is signaling its growing ability to scale up the use of long-range, aircraft-type strike drones.

Ukraine has shifted the focus of its long-range drone strikes against Russia, now targeting military-industrial and defense enterprises, particularly those involved in the production of attack drones like the Shahed series.

Russia has significantly ramped up the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and expanded the number of launch sites. The occupiers are increasingly concentrating multiple drones on single targets or settlements. In response, Ukraine’s new strike priorities aim to disrupt the mass production of UAVs at its source.

The current wave of Ukrainian strikes focuses primarily on enterprises manufacturing both strike and reconnaissance drones. This marks the beginning of a broader campaign intended to cripple Russia’s growing drone industry. The urgency of these operations is underscored by both Russian media and Western intelligence, which suggest that Russia may soon be capable of launching between 500 and 1,000 drones daily. At a time when Ukraine is still in the early stages of building a layered air defense system, such numbers pose a serious threat.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has only recently announced the development of its interceptor drone systems. The cost disparity between cheap Russian UAVs and expensive interception technologies presents a strategic imbalance. Therefore, preemptively targeting production infrastructure is essential to neutralizing the threat at its origin.

Ukraine’s strikes have focused on facilities involved in producing Geran-2, Geran-3, and drones utilizing fiber-optic guidance systems. Fiber-optic control is one of Russia’s key technological advantages in drone warfare, and eliminating this capability is vital for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The new approach—targeting manufacturing sites instead of finished products—is strategically sound.

Notable examples include repeated drone strikes by Ukrainian intelligence services on the “Alabuga” special economic zone, a major hub for drone production. Additionally, Defense Intelligence drones have hit facilities of the Kronstadt Group in the Moscow region—another key player in Russian UAV manufacturing, forcing Russia to acknowledge production disruptions and partial shutdowns.

Ukraine also successfully struck a plant in Saransk, the only fiber-optics manufacturing facility in the Russian Federation. These components are essential to Russia’s FPV drone capabilities. Following this attack, Moscow reportedly began exploring options to relocate production to China in an attempt to safeguard these strategic assets from future Ukrainian strikes.

Special attention is now being given to Ukrainian strikes on enterprises manufacturing batteries for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—a crucial component in the technological chain of drone production. Ukrainian drones have also hit facilities producing countermeasures to electronic warfare, highlighting Kyiv’s focus on weakening Russia’s ability to neutralize Ukrainian defenses.

In response to Ukraine’s increasingly effective electronic warfare systems, Russian forces have begun deploying UAVs equipped with more interference-resistant navigation systems, including the “Kometa-M” multi-element antenna. This phased array antenna allows drones to navigate more reliably via satellite systems, significantly improving their resistance to jamming. Russia has already implemented 12-element “Kometa-M” units on some drones.

Until recently, as many as 40% of Russian drones were neutralized by Ukrainian electronic warfare. In response, Russia has modified UAVs to reduce their vulnerability to jamming and mobile interception teams.

Military expert and retired Ukrainian Armed Forces colonel Oleg Zhdanov explains that Shaped-type drones are now being used primarily to deplete Ukraine’s air defense capabilities. These UAVs have started to maneuver more, change altitudes, and circle their targets, making them harder to detect and destroy.

Previously, mobile fire groups were effective in neutralizing enemy drones, but current Russian UAVs now operate at altitudes that exceed the effective range of their weapons. According to Oleg Katkov, editor-in-chief of Defense Express, the enemy has increased the flight ceiling of these drones beyond the range of standard machine guns, significantly reducing the effectiveness of mobile defense units.

This evolution has created a major challenge for Ukraine’s frontline defense, as confirmed by the General Staff: the number of drones reaching their targets has been steadily rising. In light of these changes, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate and Defense Forces have adjusted their tactics, focusing more on striking production sites deep within Russian territory.

Notably, the UK Ministry of Defense recently stated on X (formerly Twitter) that, after more than three years of full-scale war, Russia still struggles to defend its strategic military facilities. The ministry cited a growing number of Ukrainian attacks as evidence.

According to British intelligence, Ukraine is increasingly successful in using drones against Russian military and industrial infrastructure, including repeated strikes on oil refineries and other high-value targets.

It should be emphasized that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have not ceased. Most recently, a major fire broke out at an oil depot in Stavropol Krai following a drone attack. The targeted facility belonged to the energy company LUKoil. Dmitry Plyshkin, head of the federal territory Sirius, confirmed that Ukrainian drones also struck an oil depot in Sochi’s Adler district, hitting the facility located on Tavricheskaya Street.

Earlier, on the night of June 16, Russian media reported explosions near an oil refinery in the city of Orel. Residents attributed the blasts to a drone strike. These incidents serve as further evidence that Ukraine continues its targeted campaign against Russian oil refining infrastructure.

According to British intelligence, “Such successes by Ukraine highlight Russia’s ongoing failure to protect its strategic military assets and underscore the challenges it faces in balancing the defense of its critical infrastructure with the needs of its front-line operations.”

Importantly, these strikes are not isolated incidents. Ukrainian UAVs are targeting a broad range of strategic sites across Russian territory. Regardless of whether a strike results in direct physical damage, the Russian Federation is increasingly forced to implement emergency responses—such as the so-called Carpet plan—which involves the temporary closure of airspace over vast areas. This has caused significant disruption and financial loss to the Russian economy.

From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, the economic losses incurred by Russia far outweigh the investment in Ukrainian drones. According to Russian estimates, a single wave of Ukrainian UAV attacks can result in up to 20 billion rubles in economic damage. In July alone, airport closures and flight disruptions caused losses of up to 40 billion rubles.

Even when drones fail to hit their intended targets, they inflict indirect damage, disrupting logistics, spreading panic, and forcing costly defensive measures. Russian state media have reluctantly acknowledged this impact. Some commentators have even speculated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is using sustained strikes to pressure the Kremlin into withdrawing troops from the Kharkiv region.

The effectiveness of this tactic is further reinforced by admissions from Russian sources themselves. For instance, Sheremetyevo Airport—one of Russia’s largest—is reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy. Following a wave of logistical failures, Transport Minister Roman Starovoit tendered his resignation and subsequently committed suicide. These developments underscore the severe toll that Ukraine’s drone strategy is taking on Russia’s infrastructure, economy, and political system.

Crucially, this is not merely a display of technological capability—it is a systematic and strategic campaign led by Ukraine’s military intelligence and defense forces. Another telling indicator of the strategy’s evolution is the expanding operational range: Ukrainian drones are now striking targets over 2,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

This shift signals a long-term effort not only to degrade Russia’s military-industrial complex but also to impose mounting economic and psychological pressure deep within Russian territory.i

It is telling that Ukraine’s military intelligence and the Armed Forces continue to conduct intensive strikes against rear infrastructure belonging to Russia’s military-industrial complex, as well as military facilities located on the territory of the Russian Federation — all of which are legitimate targets under international law.

It is worth recalling that units of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, in coordination with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, have successfully carried out precision attacks on multiple enterprises within Russia’s defense industry.

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