Ukrainian soldiers of the 24th Brigade prepare their FPV drone equipment as the Russo-Ukrainian war continues.
Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
As Russia struggles to defend against attacks on Ukraine, it has passed a law giving its central bank and other financial institutions the power to repel drone attacks with their own defense systems.
The law, passed by Russia’s parliament on Tuesday, would allow employees of Russia’s central bank to be armed and operate systems used to suppress unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) attacks without the involvement of special forces.
The Ukrainian military is increasingly opting for long-range drone strikes, expanding its ability to defend the skies over Russia’s vast territory.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, the Russian Cash Recovery Association, the country’s largest carrier of cash and valuables, and the Special Postal Service, which handles the delivery of classified and top-secret state communications, are among the other agencies allowed to oversee their own drone defense operations, news agency RBC reported on Tuesday.
Citing the law passed by the State Duma, RBC reported that employees will be given “the power to prevent the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, underwater and surface vessels and equipment, unmanned vehicles, and other automated unmanned systems.”
This right may be used to repel attacks on protected facilities or to repel threats of attacks on employees and others located in these facilities, the report said.
Attacks could be thwarted by jamming or altering the drone’s remote control signals, interfering with its control panel, or damaging or destroying the drone.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny intentionally targeting civilian infrastructure as part of the ongoing war, which began in February 2022. However, there have been multiple attacks on critical infrastructure and facilities in both countries, and these have also become targets of cyber warfare.
A man walks near the headquarters of the Central Bank of Russia on the day of a meeting to decide on benchmark interest rates in Moscow, Russia, September 12, 2025.
Ramil Sitdikov | Reuters
Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Financial Markets Committee of the State Duma and one of the authors of the new bill, told RBC radio that anti-drone defense systems would be installed near major facilities and employees would be provided with weapons.
“Firstly, jamming is used to make it more difficult for (UAVs) to aim and attack the relevant targets. … In addition, we also use the means to shoot down these drones, thereby protecting the relevant targets,” he said, adding that each agency pays for the cost of the drone defense system itself.
“If it’s a central bank, the central bank will pay, and if it’s Sberbank, Sberbank will pay,” Aksakov was quoted as saying.
Efforts to bring Moscow and Kiev to the peace negotiation table appear to be stalling as the United States focuses on its own military campaign against Iran as the scale of the conflict appears to be escalating.
Russia announced Tuesday that the government has warned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to evacuate diplomats and American citizens from Kiev as Russia plans a new attack on the Ukrainian capital.
The Kremlin said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a phone call with Rubio on Monday, “officially informed” Washington that Russia plans to launch a “systematic and consistent attack” on Ukrainian military facilities, mainly drone design, manufacturing and programming facilities, and what the Kremlin calls “decision-making centres.”
CNBC has reached out to the U.S. and Ukrainian governments for comment.
—CNBC’s Chloe Taylor contributed reporting to this story.
