Russia to task bankers with shooting down Ukrainian drones

New legislation aims to integrate banks into Russia’s air defences using jamming systems and trained employees.Russian lawmakers have passed a bill to allow trained bank employees to shoot down Ukrainian drones amid an increase in the number of attacks.The draft legislation, which would see banks across Russia install electronic jamming systems while selected employees would shoot down incoming unmanned aircraft, passed in its third and final reading in the lower house Duma on Tuesday, according to the state-run TASS news agency.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Usyk avoids shock defeat with 11th-round stoppage of Verhoevenlist 2 of 3Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Kyiv kill at least four peoplelist 3 of 3Russia pounds Ukraine’s capital with hypersonic missileend of listAmid the war prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has recently found success as it launches waves of drones to attack Russian infrastructure, in particular targeting Moscow’s vital energy industry.The bill says the legislation is needed to protect Russia" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="135461" data-entity-type="organization">Bank of Russia facilities, including those located in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation – referring to the four eastern Ukrainian regions that Moscow has announced it has annexed despite not controlling them fully – amid the increasing number of sabotage and terrorist attacks.Under the plan, banks would finance the installation of the equipment on their premises. With banks in almost every town, their incorporation into Russia’s air defences could help expand its cover.According to the Interfax news agency, the bill was first presented last August and later expanded in scope. It must still be approved by the upper house Federation Council and signed by President Vladimir Putin before coming into force.Drone defence struggleRussia is increasingly struggling to protect its large landmass from a growing number of attacks by increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian long-range drones.