Russia will strengthen air defenses at critical sites in the northwestern Leningrad region, on the Baltic Sea coast, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko announced today, following Ukrainian strikes on local energy and port facilities, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"A decision was made to strengthen the protection of the region's airspace against drone attacks," Drozdenko said on Telegram after a meeting attended by representatives of the authorities and heads of key infrastructure facilities.
Additional mobile air defense groups will be deployed around enterprises and infrastructure sites, the governor said.
They will consist of volunteer reservists who will be offered three-year contracts, he specified.
Two ports in the Leningrad region – Ust Luga and Primorsk, which are key to Russia's exports of fertilizers, oil and coal, have been the target of several attacks by Ukrainian drones in recent days.
Compared to the same period last year, oil exports from there fell by half in the week after the drone attack on March 23, according to calculations by the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research, an independent analytical organization based in Helsinki.
Ukraine is trying to deplete the hydrocarbon reserves that Moscow uses to support and finance the large-scale offensive that the Russian army has been waging in Ukraine for more than four years.
The Ukrainian attacks have intensified after the war in the Middle East caused a surge in prices that could replenish Russia's coffers, AFP reports.