Head of Tatarstan advises Russians not to rely on air defense systems after Ukrainian drone attacks

After drone strikes on targets in Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk, the authorities of Tatarstan called on the region's enterprises not to rely on the air defense of the Russian Armed Forces to repel attacks but to defend themselves independently, states the head of the Russian region Rustam Minnikhanov. According to RBC-Ukraine, during a speech at an international energy forum, he commented on the early morning strikes on April 2 at a plant producing Shahed kamikaze drones and an oil refinery and noted the inability of air defense systems to protect enterprises and facilities in the Russian region of Tatarstan from air attacks.
"You should not expect missile defense to work - it solves other tasks," the President of Tatarstan said.
According to him, locals should solve these tasks on their own, in every enterprise, every municipality, and every city.
Minnikhanov added that the strikes on the Taneko plant and the Alabuga Polytech demonstrated the most vulnerable areas in Tatarstan and that the enemy feels it.
"The Almighty has given us a chance... Wake up, guys, no one will protect us but ourselves," said the head of the Russian region.
He also called on local emergency services to be prepared for emergencies or other incidents.
Earlier, it was reported that on April 2, drones from the Defense Forces attacked enterprises in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia for the first time. The explosions occurred in the special economic zone Alabuga, where industrial enterprises are located, over a thousand kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
At that time, the so-called head of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, stated that drone attacks had been carried out on enterprises in the cities of Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk.
According to a source in the special services, the target of the attack was the assembly plant for Shahed drones. In addition, Russian media reported that drones also hit a dormitory where workers of this enterprise lived. There are known casualties.
According to Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, during the attacks on Russian facilities in Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk, foreign weapons were not used. He also confirmed that one of the affected objects in Tatarstan was involved in the assembly of Shahed and Geran drones. Furthermore, one of the buildings located near the enterprise was hit by Russian air defense.
By the way, at the end of March, the partisan movement ATESH reported that in Russia, the heads of oil refineries were instructed to purchase electronic warfare systems, use camouflage and strengthen the protection of tanks with sandbags. All of this is to counter drone attacks.