Over 50 Air Defense Towers Now Ring Putin's Valdai Residence

Another 16 air defense towers have been built around Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence on Valdai, bringing the number of air defense positions in the area to more than 50, Radio Svoboda reported on October 25.

The outlet cited an analysis of satellite images carried out together with OSINT analyst jembobineuse.

An outer ring facing Ukraine

The new towers were built mostly south of the residence, within a radius of 50 kilometres. They form an outer ring of air defense on the side facing Ukraine. The journalists assume that Pantsir or Tor surface-to-air missile systems could be placed on the towers.

Some of the new positions are near the Khotilovo military airbase, which Putin uses, and near the Vyshny Volochyok reservoir, where Russian troops have built a secret laboratory complex.

Compared with Moscow

By the journalists' count, the number of air defense positions around Valdai now exceeds 50. That is roughly half the number built in Moscow and the Moscow region since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In mid-April it became known that seven new towers with Pantsir air defense systems had been built around the residence during March, bringing the total at that time to 27.

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