First protective anti-drone tunnel built on key frontline highway in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region

"We’ve built the first anti-drone road along the Orikhiv highway — it stretches 6.5 kilometers. This is just the beginning. We have an ambitious plan: over 200 kilometers of protected routes across the region. In the coming days, I plan to meet with the Minister of Defense to coordinate efforts and speed up the implementation of this project," he said.

It is noted that the tunnels are being constructed using funds from the Joint Defense Fund, which purchases everything needed for the work — metal structures, nets, consumables, and more. Military personnel, including fighters from one of Zaporizhzhia’s brigades, were involved in the construction.

Photo: anti-drone tunnel on the Orikhiv highway (Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration)

Purpose of anti-drone tunnels

An anti-drone tunnel consists of nets mounted on metal structures designed to protect a route from drone attacks. A typical or fiber-optic FPV drone used by the enemy may become entangled in the netting or detonate upon impact with the barrier.

For the Armed Forces, such tunnels provide a safer means of transporting personnel, equipment, and evacuating the wounded. For civilians, an anti-drone tunnel offers a relatively safer way to travel within frontline areas, especially since Russian forces are known to target civilian vehicles as frequently as military ones.

These types of anti-drone defenses are being actively built not only in the Zaporizhzhia region. In June, the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Oleh Hryhorov, announced that roads in the Sumy region and in border communities would be covered with anti-drone nets to complicate enemy aerial reconnaissance and protect logistics.