Russian Military Outlet Calls for Nationwide Air Defense Overhaul Amid Drone Threat

Quite a situation is developing with pro-war Kremlin channels. A Russian blogger with over 300,000 followers has publicly urged Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to establish a nationwide zonal air defense system, arguing that existing defenses no longer provide sufficient protection against large-scale drone and missile attacks.

In a post published on July 28, the pro-Kremlin military blogger called on Gerasimov to turn his “innovative scientific ideas” into action. The blogger argued that, after more than four years of war, Russia should be doing far more to protect critical infrastructure, energy sites, the economy and civilians from long-range drone and missile attacks.

The proposal appears to call for a layered, regional air defense network rather than relying mainly on systems placed around individual military bases and strategic facilities. In theory, such a structure would give Russia broader coverage and a better chance of responding to repeated attacks across several regions at once.

The appeal comes as Ukraine continues to expand its long-range strike campaign against targets inside Russia. Drones have repeatedly hit oil depots, airfields, factories and other infrastructure, raising fresh questions about gaps in the country’s domestic air defenses.

The post also reflects growing frustration among pro-Kremlin military bloggers over the state of Russia’s current defensive network. Still, it remains the opinion of one commentator, not an official announcement from the Kremlin or the Russian Defense Ministry.

The larger question is how Kremlin would pay for such an ambitious system. Designing, producing and deploying such air defense “network” would require enormous funding. Where is Kremlin going to get the funds for that, given that everything is going into Ukraine.

Besides, they spent billions pouring money into nuclear weapons, for no apparant reason either.