Authorities in Russia's Chelyabinsk region have created a Main Directorate for Unmanned Aerial Systems that will be responsible for protecting critical infrastructure from drone attacks.
Governor Alexei Teksler signed the document establishing the new agency.
The directorate will be formed from existing units of the Chelyabinsk region's Public Security Ministry and its Civil Defense Center that are responsible for facility protection, duty services and the regional operational headquarters.
The new body is intended to serve as a single coordination center for regional and federal authorities, the military, law enforcement agencies, municipalities, businesses and other organizations.
The Chelyabinsk regional government said the directorate was being created in response to increasingly frequent drone attacks on industrial, energy and infrastructure facilities across Russian regions.