New ring of air defense towers built around Putin's Valdai residence
Satellite image analysis indicates another air defense ring has been built around Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence in Valdai. The area now has more than 50 such positions.
Another ring of air defense towers has been built around Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence in Valdai, in the Novgorod region northwest of Moscow. The finding comes from the broadcaster Radio Svoboda and an OSINT analyst who posts on X under the handle @jembobineuse. OSINT means intelligence gathered from open sources, here satellite imagery. It comes while Russia continues its war in Ukraine.
What the satellite images show
The analysis found that in October more than 15 new towers appeared within a 50-kilometer radius of the residence, on its southern side facing Ukraine. They will most likely host Pantsir or Tor surface-to-air missile systems. Positions in the northern part of the ring have not yet been found and may be built in the coming months.
One tower of this outer ring was built much earlier, in March 2026, on the grounds of the Khotilovo military airbase. Putin regularly uses the base, and from there he can reach the residence by train along a specially built rail spur. Several positions also stand on the shore of the Vyshny Volochyok reservoir. On Lisiy Island in the middle of it, Russian military personnel have built a new laboratory complex that may be linked to Russia's biological weapons program. Construction of two air defense towers began there at about the same time.
Comparison with Moscow
There are now more than 50 air defense positions around Valdai, only half as many as in Moscow and the Moscow region, which has more than 20 million residents. Fewer than 100,000 people live in Valdai town, the district and the surrounding 50-kilometer area.
The outlet Militarnyi reports that Russia is also reinforcing Moscow's defenses: in July, construction of about 24 new Pantsir towers in the Moscow region was reported, and in June, after a drone attack on the city, at least seven such towers were built.
In January this year, Russian officials and propagandists claimed Ukraine had tried to attack Putin's Valdai residence with drones. Kyiv rejected the claim.
