Satellite images show third air-defence ring around Putin's Valdai residence

A third ring of towers

Satellite images show that a third ring of anti-aircraft installations went up around Vladimir Putin's residence at Valdai, in the Novgorod region of north-west Russia, during October. Sixteen new towers were added to the existing installations, bringing the total to about 50 within a 50-kilometre radius. The concrete structures are probably meant for short-range systems such as the Pantsir or the Tor, which are used against drones and missiles. The analysis was carried out by an open-source analyst known online as @jembobineuse and was reported by Radio Svoboda, which published it on Sunday, 25 October. Journalists had counted 27 towers around the residence in April 2026, and anti-drone nets had been installed in the area earlier.

Comparison with Moscow and the refineries

Valdai lies roughly 300 kilometres from St Petersburg and 360 kilometres from Moscow, and it has about 100,000 residents. By contrast, the Moscow region, home to some 20 million people, has 98 air-defence sites, roughly double the Valdai count. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Moscow and its surrounding region have seen about twice as many air-defence positions as the Valdai area, according to the analysis. The contrast with energy infrastructure is also stark: the four main Russian refineries are covered by only ten towers. Only the Alabuga drone factory has received comparable attention, with 33 new towers since spring 2026.

Valdai residence (50 km radius)50

Moscow region98

Valdai residence (50 km radius)

50 sites

Moscow region

98 sites

Data from the article text

Sites near Khotilovo and Lisiy island

The ring reaches out to the alternative airfield at Khotilovo, in Tver region, which journalists had earlier described as a spare airbase for Putin, and to a secret biological laboratory on Lisiy island in the Vyshnevolotsk reservoir. Radio Liberty reported in early September 2026 that a new laboratory complex was being built on the island, possibly linked to Russian biological weapons research. Most of the new positions lie to the south, facing Ukraine, while no new sites have yet been identified on the northern side of the perimeter. Analysts estimate that the building work could continue in the coming months.

Alina Kabaeva and the attack claims

Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast, lives at Valdai, and she is considered Putin's partner and the mother of his two youngest children. Russia has said that Ukrainian drones attacked the residence, with some reports dating the claim to late December 2025 and others to January. Kyiv has rejected the accusation. The CIA said it had found no evidence confirming the attack, and independent experts have also questioned the Russian account.

What is still unclear

The count is still moving, because analysts have not yet identified all positions on the northern side of the perimeter. The figures come from the analysis of satellite images, and the towers are only probably intended for Pantsir or Tor systems. The exact contents of the towers have therefore not been confirmed.