Russian police to use drones in World Cup violence crackdown
Moscow's Luzhniki stadium (Image by Mos.ru under a Creative Commons licence)
4 January 2018
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Katie Marie Davies
Russian police will deploy drones during this year’s World Cup in a bid to crack down on violent fans.
The airborne cameras will film aggressive supporters among the crowds, said Sergei Melikov, deputy director of Russia’s National Guard.
“We are paying special attention to measures which can pre-empt, detect, and combat law-breaking by aggressive fans,” he told Russia’s Interfax news agency.
Melikov also said that special bomb squads would attend each of the World Cup stadiums.
The new measures are just the latest part of Russia’s pre-World Cup preparations, including English lessons for local doctors.
Russia will host the FIFA World Cup between 14 June and 15 July 2018 in 11 cities across the country, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
