Russia to deploy war veterans to screen trucks entering city
Kemerovo has banned transit trucks from entering the city, limiting access to heavy vehicles carrying waybills from Kemerovo-based companies. Kemerovo Governor Ilya Seredyuk announced the restriction.
Transit trucks had been causing environmental and road damage, Seredyuk said, and now posed additional “security risks, including the risk of drone strikes.”
Traffic police and the Russian National Guard will enforce the new rules, the governor said, joined by members of the Kuzbass Association of Veterans of the war in Ukraine.
“Our heroes are once again proving that even in peacetime their experience and knowledge can serve the Fatherland with honor,” he added.
Seredyuk said on July 7 that Kuzbass was preparing to repel possible drone attacks following Ukrainian strikes on Omsk region, where drones hit Russia’s largest oil refinery. The “protective measures” drew on the experience of Omsk region, he said.
Ukraine’s Security Service carried out an operation called “Spiderweb” in June 2025, in which Ukrainian drones attacked military airfields in four Russian regions. The drones had been hidden inside prefabricated houses transported by five long-haul truck drivers, one of whom was killed. Four of the drivers were arrested and charged with carrying out a terrorist act as part of a group acting in concert. The drivers’ relatives and close associates said the men had not known about the hidden drones. Ukrainian officials also said the drivers had not known what cargo they were actually transporting.
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