Ukrainian Drone Attacks Prompt Kremlin to Ram Through Law Loosening Controls on Weapons and Night Vision Devices

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 10 – In the weeks since Ukraine expanded its drone attacks on Russia, the Kremlin has rammed through a new law, introduced on June 4 and signed by Putin on July 4, loosing restrictions on ownership of guns and night vision thermal imaging devices.

            This loosening of restrictions had long been sought by Russian gun owners, but it has taken place, they and their supporters say, only in response to the Ukrainian attacks and the Russian army’s inability to stop them (echofm.online/news/putin-podpisal-popravki-v-zakon-ob-oruzhii-chto-eto-znachit).

            It follows another legal innovation in March, one that also is related to the war in Ukraine and reverses Moscow’s policies on guns, which is allowing private firms to acquire military-grade weaponry to defend their facilities from drone attacks (t.me/echoonline_news/23487 and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2026/05/moscows-failure-to-block-drone-attacks.html).

            These legal changes will lead to a growing influx of guns into the hands of ordinary Russians, a trend that will make it more likely that those who commit crimes will use weapons to do so and thus make the job of the Russian police far more difficult than it has been in the past (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/08/fsb-raids-underground-armament-firms-in.html).