Ukraine plans to equip 4,000 km of roads with anti-drone protection by end of year

Ukraine plans to install anti-drone protection along 4,000 km of roads by the end of the year. An additional UAH 1.6 billion (about US$37 million) has been allocated from the state budget for anti-drone netting.

Source: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

Quote: "Ukraine is accelerating the construction of anti-drone netting to protect against enemy UAVs in border areas. By the end of 2026, 4,000 km of anti-drone protection along roads are planned to be installed."

Details: Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov noted that Russia uses drones near the front line as a tool of terror against civilian vehicles, emergency services and repair crews.

"On the president's instructions, we are strengthening protection of frontline territories and accelerating the construction of anti-drone netting. The focus is on roads that ensure uninterrupted logistics and the functioning of hromadas near the line of combat contact," he said. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

An additional UAH 1.6 billion has been allocated for anti-drone netting. In February, despite difficult weather conditions, 125 km of roads were additionally covered and 55 km of structures were restored, the ministry reported.

Within a month, the pace of installing anti-drone protection increased from 5 km per day in January to 12 km per day in February. This has significantly enhanced the safety of military movement and ensured the stable functioning of frontline hromadas.

"In March, we plan to cover 20 km of roads per day. By the end of the year, we intend to equip another 4,000 km of roads with anti-drone protection," Fedorov added.

Construction of fortifications in Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts has also been accelerated to ensure defence resilience and effectively counter Russian offensive actions, the ministry said.

Background:

• Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine's Agency for Restoration was identifying the most critical sections where anti-drone netting should be installed as a priority.
• The first specialised anti-drone tunnel was constructed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a vital shield for civilian and military transport against Russian first-person view (FPV) drone strikes.
• In Kherson Oblast, 264 km of roads and critical facilities were planned to be equipped with anti-drone netting.
• The Kherson Oblast budget allocated UAH 50 million (about US$1.1 million) to purchase materials to cover roads with anti-drone netting, enough for 60 km.

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