At least 27 air defense positions have been established around Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence at Valdai in the Novgorod Region, RFE/RL’s Russian service reported on April 12.
26 of the towers were built to house Pantsir-S1 air defense systems, while the 27th was built for an S-400 missile system, according to an interactive map compiled by RFE/RL journalist Mark Krutov.
Satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows construction of eight new Pantsir-S1 towers began on March 17, Krutov said. Most have already been completed, and some have been equipped with missile systems.
The first Pantsir-S1 system appeared near Putin’s Valdai residence in January 2023, and a second in July 2024. The buildup accelerated in 2025: by August the area had 12 systems, and by December that number had grown to 20.
Russian authorities claimed that Ukraine attempted to strike Putin’s Valdai residence with drones in December 2025. Moscow provided no evidence. Kyiv denied the claim and said it opposes strikes on political centers and locations where the leaders of warring countries are present. U.S. officials concluded that Ukraine had not attempted to attack the residence.
Proekt, the independent Russian investigative outlet, reported in 2023 that Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva has a home near Putin’s Valdai residence. She is widely believed to be the mother of three of the Russian president’s children.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.
