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.

Amid 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 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 struggle

Russia is increasingly struggling to protect its large landmass from a growing number of attacks by increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian long-range drones.

As the intensity and depth of Ukrainian drone attacks have increased, Russian authorities have encouraged businesses to contribute to protective measures.

Banks are not known to be a prime target, but the plan encompasses Russia’s central bank and other top institutions, including the majority state-owned Sberbank.

With few details included in the bill, it has raised questions about how such a project would work. The widespread installation of equipment and training of staff in how to use it would require a huge organisational effort.

The plan also deviates from Putin’s efforts to shield Russians from feeling the consequences of the February 2022 invasion on their daily lives.

The bill says bank employees may jam or intercept drone control signals, and damage or destroy uncrewed aerial, underwater and ground vehicles threatening their facilities, without waiting for a response from security services.

“Jamming will be used to make it more difficult for [the drones] to target and attack the relevant targets,” Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, told Russian media outlet RBK. “Plus, we’ll also use means to shoot down these drones, thereby protecting the relevant targets.”

Each organisation would determine which employees would be trained to deploy the measures.