Putin signs decree to take control of private infrastructure

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the Government to temporarily take control of critical infrastructure if private owners fail to protect it from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild it after strikes, apparently the latest indication that Moscow is feeling the strain of war.

Russia is facing economic and political pressure due to months of escalating, deep and increasingly accurate Ukrainian strikes.

Kyiv has used domestically developed long-range drones to target vital oil facilities, triggering fuel shortages that Putin publicly admitted, and major commercial hubs, embarrassing the Russian leadership. Ukraine has also reeled from relentless Russian aerial attacks that have smashed its power grid ahead of winter and heavily damaged homes, as Russia’s invasion stretches into its fifth year.

The Kremlin’s intentions with Putin’s decree, announced late Monday, are unclear. However, it applies to various sectors, including energy and fuel infrastructure, industrial, communications, transport and logistics facilities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “often business owners do not pay enough attention to taking measures to ensure safety, anti-drone safety.”

Given the drone threat against vital economic infrastructure, “we must take measures, we must ensure our own safety,” Peskov said. Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement Monday evening that the decree doesn’t imply nationalization of companies or a change of ownership — only “involvement of the state in the management of an enterprise to solve specific security problems.”

He added that “this mechanism doesn’t imply widespread use — targeted, carefully considered decisions will be made at the highest level.”Russian political analyst Abbas Gallyamov said the measure might be a “tactical” step designed to make the owners of repeatedly damaged oil refineries undertake repairs that they might otherwise shy away from.

“Given the fact that the same refinery has already been hit three to five times, it’s safe to assume that the owners are now reluctant to invest in restoring what’s been destroyed,” he said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Why spend billions if they’re going to get hit again tomorrow?” asked Gallyamov, who once worked as a speechwriter for Putin.