In early January, a missile strike on Russia’s Belgorod region left more than half a million people without electricity, and the effects of the major blackout also reached Oryol region. Against that backdrop, drone alerts in the first days of 2026 were declared even far from the front, including in Orenburg region, while in 2025 attacks increasingly reached regions in the Central and Ural federal districts.
One of the most high-profile incidents in the Southern Urals was the October 22, 2025 explosion at the Plastmass military plant in Kopeysk. According to official data, 23 workers were killed and at least 29 were injured. Investigators acting on instructions from Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin said the cause was a violation of industrial safety rules, although several Telegram channels reported a possible drone strike, and the Ukrainian channel Oko Gora, after studying satellite images, said it found two large craters. Governor Aleksey Teksler said the drone-strike version had not been confirmed.
People interviewed by Novaya Gazeta Europe said residents still have little understanding of what to do in the event of a drone alert. Urbanist Mikhail Popov said people receive text warnings, but there is almost no publicly accessible information about shelters. Boris Zolotarevsky, founder of the Telegram channel Chelyabinsk of the Future, described chaotic internet shutdowns and signal jamming, especially near defense plants and the Shagol airfield.
“For more than two months, residents of Chelyabinsk region have been receiving SMS alerts about possible incoming strikes, but there is no public information about shelters,” Mikhail Popov said.
The authorities have been promoting an Emergencies Ministry app, but local residents say it is little known and unreliable. The regional geoportal contains a shelter map that includes basements and underground parking lots, yet the newspaper’s sources say many sites are only formally listed as suitable while in reality they are in poor condition, privatized, or simply locked. In Zlatoust, where shelter capacity was estimated at 7,600 places for a population of 157,000, one facility costing 15 million rubles is not due to be ready until May 31, 2026. Residents in Magnitogorsk and Kopeysk also complain about the lack of clear signs and instructions.
According to the experts and residents interviewed, communication failures, delayed alerts, unprepared shelters and weak coordination by the authorities are deepening anxiety and distrust. Military analyst Kirill Mikhailov said that if the war continues, the range of strikes may keep increasing, including through new Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missiles with a stated range of 3,000 kilometers.