Ukrainian businesses and critical infrastructure facilities are getting a new form of protection against nightly Russian drone attacks through an innovative private defense initiative.
The country introduced a pilot program last year that permits industrial companies to create their own air defense units to safeguard their operations. According to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, twenty businesses have enrolled in the program, with two currently providing active air defense services.
One participating company, Carmine Sky, utilizes multiple defensive strategies tailored to each client’s requirements, including interceptor drones and automated gun systems equipped with M2 Browning heavy machine guns.
“It’s like an onion, made of layers,” explained Ruslan, a Carmine Sky representative who shared only his first name for security purposes.
Russia sends thousands of inexpensive, long-distance attack drones toward Ukraine monthly. Although Ukrainian forces intercept most of these threats, the ones that penetrate defenses have caused significant damage to military sites, manufacturing plants, and power infrastructure, leaving millions without heat and electricity during the previous winter.
During a Reuters interview at Carmine Sky’s control center, Ruslan showed how employees track incoming Russian drones. Workers sat in comfortable chairs, holding gaming controllers while scanning for threats in a darkened room covered with camouflage netting.
The firm provides services in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region and additional areas, though Ruslan wouldn’t specify locations or reveal client identities.
“We are only complementing the traditional state air defence model,” Ruslan stated. “State air defence has a more strategic role, while we are local.”
These private companies must obtain Defense Ministry approval before beginning operations and integrate with the Ukrainian air force’s command structure.
“Targets and the decision to open fire is made solely by them,” Ruslan noted. “We cannot do so on our own.”
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov highlighted initial achievements last month, announcing that a private company had successfully destroyed Russian drones in the Kharkiv region. On April 17, he reported that a private air defense team had eliminated a jet-powered Shahed drone.
Civilian personnel undergo extensive screening, including polygraph examinations repeated quarterly, according to Ruslan.
Roman Korzh from Gvardiia, another air defense service provider, said training inexperienced recruits to operate interceptor drones requires approximately three weeks. Those who don’t qualify as pilots join teams as observers or maintenance staff.
Gvardiia primarily recruits from existing volunteer air defense groups with battlefield experience.
“The volunteer units are, as they say, our backbone,” said Korzh, who oversees training operations.
Work schedules remain adaptable, enabling employees to balance defense duties with civilian employment when necessary.
