Drone Attacks on Commercial and Industrial Facilities: an Alert

According to expert estimates, Russian businesses sustained approximately RUB 200 billion in losses from UAV attacks during the first half of 2026.

A UAV strike on an industrial, warehousing, or critical infrastructure facility, however, entails far more than physical damage and operational disruption.

It immediately exposes the business to multiple, parallel legal risk streams. At a minimum, these include the risk of insurance coverage being denied, disputes with counterparties arising from disrupted contractual performance, and heightened scrutiny by law enforcement and regulatory authorities.

Experience consistently demonstrates that the ultimate financial and legal consequences of a UAV strike are determined not only by the severity of the incident itself, but by the quality of the company's initial response.

The most consequential factors during the critical early stage include the timely notification of insurers and contractual counterparties, comprehensive preservation of evidence documenting the attack and its consequences, the availability of complete documentation relating to the affected asset, and a consistent legal position across criminal, insurance, and contractual matters.

For management, therefore, the principal issue extends well beyond the amount of physical damage sustained. The decisive questions are how the incident is officially documented, what evidence is preserved before it is lost, and how effectively the company's legal response is coordinated from the outset.

We have analyzed court decisions together with an extensive body of investigative practice relating to UAV attacks from 2024 through 2026. The same recurring patterns emerge with remarkable consistency across virtually every matter.

This Alert sets out a practical, end-to-end framework for managing legal risk before, during, and after an aerial attack, including attacks involving UAVs, missiles, and other aerial weapons. Properly implemented, this framework helps preserve insurance coverage, strengthen the company's litigation and regulatory posture, and materially reduce legal and commercial exposure for both the business and its management.

The full alert is available via the link.