Russian Businesses Warn Putin Drone Attacks Are Threatening Industry

26th May 2026
Russian business leaders are warning the Kremlin that Ukrainian drone attacks are beginning to threaten parts of the industrial network keeping the economy running, as companies push President Vladimir Putin for heavier weapons to defend factories, energy facilities and transport infrastructure. The appeal marks a noticeable shift inside Russian industry. Large companies no longer appear to view drone strikes as isolated security incidents near border regions. The attacks are increasingly being treated as a direct operational risk capable of disrupting production, slowing logistics and forcing businesses into a more defensive posture. Reuters reported that Russia has already authorised private security guards to use AK-47 rifles, but the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs told Putin stronger weapons are now needed as attacks intensify. For industrial firms, even limited strikes can create wider financial problems. Insurance costs rise. Deliveries slow. Facilities face interruptions. Investment plans are starting to compete with security spending inside parts of Russian industry. The push for a targeted financing fund also points to a deeper concern inside the corporate sector. Russian industry no longer seems to be treating these attacks as a short-term disruption. Companies are beginning to plan around the possibility that infrastructure protection, emergency security measures and operational disruption may become a lasting feature of doing business. The effects do not stop at factory gates. Companies tend to pull back when supply routes, energy sites and production facilities start looking vulnerable. That caution can spread into regional economies, hiring decisions and investment activity long before the full financial impact becomes visible. The Kremlin has spent heavily trying to shield the broader economy from the worst effects of the war through state spending, energy revenues and industrial support. But the growing wave of drone attacks is creating a different kind of strain — one that reaches directly into physical infrastructure and the daily functioning of industry itself. For some industrial firms, conversations that once centred on expansion are starting to sound more like contingency planning. Industrial security is increasingly becoming part of ordinary business operations as the war pushes deeper into systems companies rely on to keep functioning.