Russia has built about 16 new elevated air defense towers in a ring about 50km around Vladimir Putin's residence, bringing the number near the site to more than 50, according to a Radio Liberty investigation based on satellite images.
They are mainly on the southern side of the ring, in front of Ukraine, and are about 15 km apart.
The lattice structures are designed to lift short-range systems like the Pantsir or Tor above the tree line so they can hit drones and low-flying missiles.
The new ring also covers Khotilovo Air Base, a backup airport for Putin connected to the residence by a dedicated rail line, and Lysi Island in the Vishny Volochyuk Reservoir, home to a classified laboratory.
Mark Krotov and Radio Liberty OSINT analyst jembobineuse (in X), who mapped the sites with Planet Labs images, say the count roughly doubled in six months. The Valdai region, with fewer than 100,000 people within 50 km, now has about half as many towers as Moscow and the surrounding area, which has about 100 for more than 20 million people.
The buildup follows Russian claims of Ukrainian drone attacks on the residence, which Kiev has denied.