Ukraine lacks the means to destroy underground production facilities being built at the Alabuga industrial complex in Russia’s Tatarstan region, former Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Omelyan has said.

According to Omelyan, jet-powered Shahed drones will not be the only problem Ukraine will face. He expects Russia to move toward the mass production of cheap cruise missiles, while arguing that Kiev is not adequately preparing for this development.

The former minister compared the situation to the earlier appearance of conventional Shahed drones. He said Ukraine had known about the threat in advance but still struggled to determine how to counter the UAVs after they began reaching Kiev.

Omelyan paid particular attention to construction underway at Alabuga. He claimed that an underground factory is being built there where missiles and drones will eventually be produced in tens of thousands of units.

He criticized Ukraine for not striking the facility while it is still under construction and referred to the Ukrainian Flamingo and Pelican systems, describing them as ballistic weapons.

Omelyan argued that once construction is completed, destroying the underground production facilities will become significantly more difficult. He said the structures would eventually be covered with concrete that Ukraine would be unable to penetrate with the weapons available to it.