State Duma passes bill allowing Russia’s National Guard troops to use heavy military equipment

The State Duma approved a bill giving Russia’s National Guard the right to use military equipment, including heavy equipment, according to the official website of the lower house of Russia’s parliament.

The new bill will change the wording of an existing law on the National Guard, so that the law refers to the broader category of “arms” rather than “weapons,” as it currently does. Similarly, the term “military equipment” will replace “fighting equipment.”

After the new law is adopted, it will allow the National Guard to “free hostages; protect citizens, officials, and military personnel; ensure security during mass unrest and emergency situations; stop vehicles; block the activities of illegal armed groups; suppress resistance from armed indiviuals refusing to comply with legal requirements; and stop the movement of unmanned aerial vehicles.”

The bill’s authors were Alexander Khinshtein, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee and Vasily Piskarev, head of the Security Committee. They submitted the bill for consideration only two days ago, on July 17. The authors argue that the new document will bring legal norms “in line with reality” and eliminate formal gaps, since the National Guard already operates transport aircraft, combat helicopters, and armored personnel carriers.

However, at the July 19 session Kartapolov said that the bill “significantly expands the capabilities of national guard troops.”