Vladimir Putin has built a 34-mile ring of 50 air defence missile towers around his luxury lakeside residence to protect it from Ukrainian drone strikes, according to open-source intelligence researchers.
New anti-aircraft towers near Valdai
Satellite imagery shows 16 newly constructed anti-aircraft towers just south of the Valdai hideaway. The custom-built platforms are designed to carry Pantsir and Tor surface-to-air missile batteries, systems regarded as Moscow's standard for intercepting low-altitude drones.
The missile ring stretches across a 34-mile arc, passing a military airstrip at Khotilovo and a biological laboratory on the isolated Lysiachyi Island. The surrounding district now has at least 50 high-tech air defence sites guarding fewer than 100,000 residents.
Contrast with Moscow's defences
By comparison, the 20 million people living in and around Moscow share roughly 100 air defence batteries between them.
The build-up was identified by open-source intelligence researcher jembobineuse on X and journalists at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who examined high-resolution satellite images of the newly erected towers.
Luxury compound details
The lakeside bunker, located on a secluded peninsula between Lake Valdai and Lake Uzhin, reportedly serves as a residence for Putin, 74, and Alina Kabaeva, 43, along with their two sons. The compound is said to include a sub-zero cryo-chamber, a personal solarium, a Turkish hammam, a therapeutic mud room and private medical suites.
An identical copy of Putin's official Moscow Kremlin office is also understood to have been built inside the compound, allowing him to film televised addresses and take part in video summits without revealing he is hundreds of miles away by the water.
