Russia lets central bank arm staff to down drones
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- Russia passed a law in the State Duma allowing the central bank and select financial institutions to operate anti‑drone defense systems without special‑force involvement.
- Central Bank of Russia staff will be armed and can use jamming, signal interference, or direct fire to neutralize UAVs threatening protected facilities.
- Sberbank and the Russian Cash Collection Association and Special Postal Service are authorized to run their own drone‑defense measures and must finance the equipment themselves.
- Anatoly Aksakov the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, said anti‑drone units will be positioned near key sites and employees will receive weapons.
Why it matters: Banks such as Sberbank must now fund anti‑drone systems, increasing operational expenses, while Russia’s military can redirect resources away from civilian finance protection to other defense priorities.
