Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced that hundreds of kilometers of Ukrainian roads will be shielded from Russian drones before the end of the year, with the country targeting 4,000 km of anti-drone protection by the end of 2026.
Near the front lines, Russian forces use drones as "a tool of terror against civilian vehicles, rescue workers, and repair crews," Fedorov said, explaining why the Defense Ministry is accelerating construction of anti-drone netting in border areas.
The focus is on "roads that provide logistics and sustain the livelihood of communities near the front," the minister specified.
An additional 1.6 billion hryvnias ($37 million) has been allocated from the budget for anti-drone netting. In February alone, despite difficult weather conditions, crews covered an additional 125 km of roads and restored 55 km of existing structures.
The pace of construction has increased sharply: from 5 km per day in January to 12 km in February. In March, the ministry plans to reach 20 km per day, Fedorov said.
Simultaneously, the ministry has accelerated fortification construction in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv oblasts, the defense agency added.
In October 2025, then-official Sukhomlyn reported that anti-drone tunnels had been built in five Ukrainian oblasts, with plans to extend them to public roads across all frontline regions. Earlier, in August, the General Staff reported that construction of anti-drone tunnels was underway in Sumy Oblast to protect both military and civilian traffic.
