Russia has built about 16 new air defense towers in a ring about 50km around Vladimir Putin's residence, bringing the total near the site to more than 50, according to a Radio Freedom investigation based on satellite images. They are mainly on the southern side of the ring, in front of Ukraine, and avoid about 15 km. The structures of the tires are designed to lift short-range systems such as Pantsir or Tor above the treeline so they can hit low-flying drones and missiles. The new ring also covers Khotilovo Air Base, a backup airport for Putin connected to the residence by a dedicated railway line, and Lisiy Island on the Vyshny Volochyok Reservoir, home to a classified laboratory. Radio Libertov and OSINT risk use (X) analyst, who listed the sites with Planet Labs imagery, says the count has roughly doubled in six months. The Valdai region, with less than 100,000 people within 50 km, now has about half as many as Moscow and the surrounding area, which has about 100 for more than 20 million people. The construction follows Russian claims of Ukrainian drone attacks on the residence, which Kiev has denied.

Russia has built about 16 new air defense towers in a ring about 50km around Vladimir Putin's residence, bringing the total near the site to more than 50, according to a Radio Freedom investigation based on satellite images. They are mainly on the southern side of the ring, in front of Ukraine, and avoid about 15 km. The structures of the tires are designed to lift short-range systems such as Pantsir or Tor above the treeline so they can hit low-flying drones and missiles. The new ring also covers Khotilovo Air Base, a backup airport for Putin connected to the residence by a dedicated railway line, and Lisiy Island on the Vyshny Volochyok Reservoir, home to a classified laboratory. Radio Libertov and OSINT risk use (X) analyst, who listed the sites with Planet Labs imagery, says the count has roughly doubled in six months. The Valdai region, with less than 100,000 people within 50 km, now has about half as many as Moscow and the surrounding area, which has about 100 for more than 20 million people. The construction follows Russian claims of Ukrainian drone attacks on the residence, which Kiev has denied.