'No region can feel safe' — Russia's ex-Defense Minister Shoigu raises alarm over Ukraine's drone strikes
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Ukrainian long-range drones now threaten Russia's Ural region, more than 1,500 kilometers (about 930 miles) from the Russian-Ukrainian border, Secretary of Russia's Security Council and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on March 17 during a council meeting.
The Ural is a geographic region spanning Russia and Kazakhstan, lying between the East European and West Siberian plains. The area is dominated by a mountain range that forms a natural boundary between Europe and Asia.
During the meeting, Shoigu said the development of Ukrainian drones has advanced to the point that "no Russian region can feel safe," with the Ural region already "in the immediate danger zone."
Shoigu said that in 2025, Ukrainian aerial strikes on infrastructure across Russia surged nearly fourfold, with more than 23,000 attacks recorded.
The Ural region hosts strategic defense-industrial enterprises, energy facilities, chemical plants, and some of Russia's largest oil and gas fields — key components of the country's economic strength and defense capability, Shoigu said.
The region also features an extensive transportation network, including major rail lines and hubs, as well as federal highways, according to Shoigu.
"Disabling them could not only cause significant economic damage but also disrupt major metropolitan areas and key supply chains, including those essential to supporting a special military operation," the official said.
The secretary said that Ukrainian forces are primarily targeting military sites, transportation networks, and energy facilities. Since early 2026, the attacks on Russian industrial enterprises and oil refineries have intensified, hitting operations that support the defense sector and supply the Russian military, he added.
The statement comes as Ukraine has intensified long-range strikes on Russian territory, with Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow for four days in a row.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has been a pioneer in drone warfare, becoming the first to deploy short-range kamikaze drones on the battlefield.
Ukrainian forces later scaled up production of long-range drones, even as Russia was already fielding similar models — first imported from Iran and later produced domestically using the Iranian design.
Ukrainian long-range drones, far cheaper and easier to produce than most missiles, can now strike targets more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine regularly targets Russian military sites and oil industry facilities in an effort to weaken Russia's battlefield capabilities.
Ukrainian forces hit overnight on March 14 the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, which processes about 6.25 million tons of oil a year, or roughly 2.1% of the country's total refining capacity, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
