Ukraine has built 822 kilometers of anti-drone protection along frontline logistics routes since the start of 2026 and has restored more than 170 kilometers of damaged regular roads in frontline oblasts, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says. In May alone, Ukraine's State Special Transport Service built 211 km of new anti-drone protection.
Russian FPVs and reconnaissance UAVs hunting Ukrainian vehicles within 15-30 km of the front have forced Ukraine to build a permanent national infrastructure for drone-protected movement on its own side.
How does protection work?
Anti-drone protection on Ukrainian frontline roads typically takes the form of overhead netting tunnels, wire-mesh canopies, and reinforced barriers along sections of road within reach of Russian FPV drone operators.
The structures intercept FPVs before they strike vehicles, allowing supply trucks, casualty-evacuation vehicles, and personnel rotations to move along otherwise lethal stretches of road.
The May 2026 build-out
In May 2026, Ukraine restored 38 km of previously damaged protected segments and rebuilt 115.5 km of standard frontline roads.
The combination of new construction, maintenance, and regular road repair reflects the operational reality that Russian strikes constantly attrit the network even as Ukraine extends it.
"Each protected kilometer means safer logistics, faster supply, casualty evacuation, and safer military movement even under constant threat of drone attacks," Fedorov said.
Mirror campaigns
Meanwhile, Ukraine's offensive logistics campaign has driven Russia to restrict civilian transport on its main occupied-territory highways. Russia is reportedly banning regular bus services on the R-280 "Novorossiya" route and the R-150 Belgorod-Mariupol highway after Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine, on its own side, is building physical infrastructure, such as netting, wire, and barriers, to keep its own logistics moving under the same drone pressure that Russia is failing to manage on the other side of the line.
Meanwhile, Russia has installed anti-drone nets at its facilities, such as the Velikolukskaya oil depot in Velikiye Luki, Pskov Oblast.
