Russian Firms Lease Air Defenses, Hire Gunners to Counter Ukrainian Drones

Russian companies are being pushed to defend their own facilities against Ukrainian drones, leasing air-defense systems, building counter-drone equipment, and hiring people to shoot down incoming aircraft.

The pressure comes from both the attacks and the Kremlin.

A government decree warned that companies failing to protect their sites could face temporary state seizure, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Industry Takes Up the Burden

After a drone hit steelmaker Severstal earlier this year, its owner, Alexei Mordashov, brought in an air-defense system for the company’s largest mill, according to people familiar with the matter.

“The Kremlin is shifting more and more of the burden of protection to the shoulders of private business,” Alexandra Prokopenko, a senior analyst at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told WSJ.

Some companies pay the Defense Ministry to rent systems operated by instructors, according to two people close to Russia’s business community.

Others have hired engineers from defense firms to help develop their own equipment, one of the people said.

Russian businesses spent more than 440 million rubles on counter-drone systems in the first half of 2026, nearly seven times the amount spent a year earlier, according to state news agency Tass.

The reported figure may understate total spending because companies are not required to disclose it.

Guards, Warehouses and Postal Workers

The demand is changing security work. Job ads on Avito seek guards who can watch for drones and shoot them down.

One position in the Moscow area offers a monthly salary starting at 240,000 rubles, or nearly $3,000, plus bonuses.

Wildberries has installed steel netting around some warehouses.

The government has also authorized postal workers to carry weapons and ammunition for use against drones, without specifying the weapons involved.

Since March, Ukrainian drones have carried out about 200 strikes on Russian refineries and hit at least 36 logistics centers, including sites belonging to Ozon and Wildberries, according to Rochan Consulting.

Costs and Coordination

Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky is marketing a system that uses artificial intelligence to detect and classify drones.

It says the package can engage targets when connected to suitable air-defense equipment.

The Finance Ministry has proposed developing tax relief for companies’ defense spending and repairs.

Insurers are also grappling with claims arising from drone attacks, while Russia’s central bank has promised $2 billion for the country’s main reinsurer to help cover rising payouts.

At a May meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, raised the question of how weapons would reach companies protecting industrial sites.

“However, certain issues require resolution, like working out a mechanism for supplying weaponry,” he said.

Putin said he would examine the issue. Coordination among businesses, the Defense Ministry and arms producers remains ad hoc, according to people familiar with the arrangements.