Russia allows banks and central bank to operate anti-drone defence systems
New law permits institutions to jam, intercept and destroy hostile drones
Russia warned US of fresh Kyiv strikes targeting Ukraine’s drone infrastructure
Russia has enacted legislation permitting its central bank and a handful of major financial institutions to deploy and operate their own anti-drone defence systems, as Ukrainian long-range strikes continue to test the country's ability to protect critical infrastructure across its vast territory, the BBC reported.
The law, passed by Russia's State Duma on Tuesday, authorises staff at the Russian central bank to carry weapons and manage drone countermeasures without requiring the involvement of special forces. Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, the Russian Cash Collection Association — the country's biggest carrier of cash and valuables — and the Special Postal Service, which handles classified state correspondence, are among the other institutions granted similar powers under the legislation.
Employees at these organisations will be permitted to jam or intercept drone remote-control signals, interfere with control panels, and physically damage or destroy unmanned aerial vehicles, underwater vessels, and other automated systems. The powers can be exercised both to repel active attacks on protected facilities and to counter threats to staff and others present at those sites. Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets and one of the law's authors, confirmed that institutions would bear the cost of their own defence systems. "If it's the central bank, then the central bank will pay; if it's Sberbank, then Sberbank will pay," he told RBC Radio.
The legislation arrives as the broader conflict between Russia and Ukraine shows little sign of moving towards resolution. Efforts to bring both sides to the negotiating table appear to have stalled, partly because Washington's diplomatic bandwidth is heavily consumed by its military operation against Iran.
In a separate and significant development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov formally warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a call on Monday that Russia intended to launch fresh strikes on Kyiv, urging Washington to evacuate its diplomats and American citizens from the Ukrainian capital. Moscow said it planned "systematic and consistent strikes" targeting Ukrainian military facilities — with particular focus on sites involved in designing, manufacturing and programming drones — as well as what Russia described as "decision-making centres." CNBC said it had sought comment from both the US and Ukrainian governments.
