Russian Banks Gain Air Defense Powers After Crimea Strike

Russia has passed a law allowing the Central Bank and other financial institutions to operate their own drone defence systems and arm staff to repel attacks.

The measure comes after Ukraine struck the Russian central bank’s office in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea, with what Russian-installed governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said was a British-made Storm Shadow missile. He said the building caught fire after the strike.

Ukraine has regularly launched drone attacks on Russian territory since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, frequently targeting energy infrastructure as Kyiv seeks to deprive Russia of revenues to sustain the war.

The new law permits air defence systems to be deployed at facilities belonging to the Central Bank, Sberbank and the Russian Cash Collection Association. The institutions themselves will bear the cost of the defences.

Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma’s financial committee, said the move was a response to growing security risks. Russian media described the Sevastopol strike as the first attack on a major central bank office since the start of the war.

A day before the law was passed, Alexander Shokhin, head of Russia’s leading business lobby, said major companies were prepared to finance heavier weapons and electronic systems to defend infrastructure from Ukrainian drone attacks.

(reuters, max)