Putin to Allow State Control of Companies’ Assets Over Drone Security Failures

Vladimir Putin will allow the state to take temporary control of companies’ assets if authorities believe they are failing to adequately protect critical facilities from drone attacks.

The Russian president signed a decree outlining measures to improve the security of such facilities.

Temporary state control could be imposed if a company violates security requirements or fails to restore a facility promptly after it is damaged.

The authorities will be able to place all or part of a company’s movable and immovable property under state control, along with its securities, stakes in Russian legal entities, and property rights.

Under the decree, there is no set time limit for the state takeover. The government will decide whether to impose it, following instructions from Putin.

The decree defines “critical infrastructure facilities” as enterprises in the fuel and energy and industrial sectors, as well as communications, utilities, transport and logistics infrastructure, energy facilities, including nuclear power facilities, and essential public services.

However, the list is not limited by these domains. The mechanism may also be applied to other facilities that the authorities consider to be of “particular importance” to Russia’s security and economic stability.

Delays in restoring facilities could now have direct consequences for their owners: Putin’s decree explicitly lists the failure to promptly restore critical infrastructure after damage as grounds for placing a company’s assets under state control.

The decree comes amid intensified attacks on Russia’s industrial and logistics infrastructure. These include strikes on three Ozon warehouses and the Russian Kamensky Combine defense industry enterprise.