The Russian State Duma passed legislation on May 26-27, 2026, authorizing the central bank of Russia, Sberbank, and other major financial institutions to deploy drone defense systems and arm selected employees to repel drone attacks without involving special forces [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The law allows staff at these institutions to jam, interfere with, or shoot down drones and other unmanned aerial systems that threaten their facilities or personnel, according to official sources [1, 2, 5]. Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Financial Markets Committee, said, “Firstly, jamming will be used to make it more difficult for [the UAVs] to target and attack the relevant targets ... Plus, we’ll also use means to shoot down these drones, thereby protecting the relevant targets” [2].
Besides the central bank and Sberbank, the law authorizes organizations such as the Russian Cash Collection Association and Special Postal Service to operate their own drone defense measures [1, 2, 5]. These institutions will bear the costs of procuring and maintaining the drone defense equipment themselves [1, 2, 4, 5].
The legislation responds to an increase in drone attacks targeting Russian infrastructure, which state sources link to Ukrainian drone strikes since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 [1, 3, 4, 5]. In recent months, Russian business groups have expressed willingness to finance stronger weapons and electronic systems to protect critical infrastructure from drone and air attacks [1, 4].
The bill was adopted by the State Duma’s lower house on May 26 and now awaits approval by the Federation Council and President Vladimir Putin before it can come into force [3, 4, 5].
The proposed legislation was first introduced in August 2025 and has since been expanded in scope to include a wider range of financial institutions able to operate these armed drone defense systems [3].
