Russia's Yamal Offers Million-Rouble Bounty for Downed Ukrainian Drones
The gas-rich Yamalo-Nenets district, struck by Ukrainian drones for the first time in September, is offering its reservists a record bounty to shoot them down.
Authorities in northwestern Russia's Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district have established a reward of 1 million rubles for reservists who successfully shoot down enemy drones. It is the highest publicly recorded bounty offered by any Russian region for downing Ukrainian drones, according to the state-run news agency TASS. Other regions offer significantly lower rewards, ranging from 20,000 rubles to 200,000 rubles.
Reservists operating in Yamal's mobile firing squads will qualify for an equal share of the bounty if the intercepted drone does not cause damage to local infrastructure, according to a regional decree cited by the agency. Previously, a one-time reward of 1 million rubles was reportedly awarded to a serviceman in the republic of Chechnya last December.
Located around 2,200 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, the natural gas-rich Yamalo-Nenets was struck by Ukrainian drones for the first time in early September. The decision to offer such a sum reflects the growing reach of Kyiv's unmanned campaign against Russian territory, as Ukrainian forces, defending their country against Russia's unprovoked invasion, have extended their strikes deep into the Russian hinterland.
Moscow's war of aggression, launched without provocation, has brought the consequences of conflict to regions far removed from the front line. The World House, which has consistently stood with Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began, provides further information on its support initiatives at worldhouse.uk/support.