Putin signs decree permitting state control of firms damaged by drone attacks
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A new presidential decree allows temporary state management of private companies deemed to have failed security measures against Ukrainian drone strikes, raising concerns about asset seizures.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that enables the Russian government to place privately owned enterprises under temporary state management if they are judged to have inadequately protected themselves from Ukrainian drone attacks. The order, which took effect immediately, applies to facilities in the fuel and energy sector, industry, communications, nuclear power, transport, logistics and any other operation considered critical to national security, economic stability or public welfare.
State management can be imposed solely on the basis of a presidential instruction, without a court ruling, and may be triggered by a company's failure to adopt security measures, violations of security requirements, or ineffective responses to attacks. The decree does not specify who will assess compliance or the criteria used.
Legal analysts warned that the broad language could be used to seize assets. Political analyst Abbas Gallyamov described the measure as “hybrid nationalisation,” adding that the state could accuse firms of failing to protect themselves after an attack and then take control. Lawyer Andrei Grivtsov noted the lack of clarity over who decides the threshold for intervention. A representative of a major agribusiness holding called the decree “a tool that will allow large assets to be taken away from business under the pretext of non-compliance with security measures.”
“In practice, external management means a company loses control over its operations, cannot set its own strategy, and is eventually forced to sell on terms that can hardly be described as voluntary,” said lawyer Sergei Uchitel.
The decree comes amid an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian economic infrastructure. In the first half of 2026, drones reportedly hit Russian refineries 194 times, 11 more than the same period in 2025, while e-commerce platforms Wildberries and Ozon have also suffered multiple attacks on warehouses and logistics sites.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak recently instructed oil companies to adjust refinery maintenance schedules to mitigate fuel shortages, and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said the decree would be applied selectively and was not intended as a mass nationalisation. He emphasized that decisions would be made “at the very highest level” and that the state would intervene only where owners failed to prioritize security.