Defensive perimeter around Valdai
I see a new ring of air defense towers within 50 kilometers (30 miles) of Vladimir Putin’s Valdai residence, according to analysis from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and OSINT analyst Jembob on October 25. The town of Valdai, located in Russia’s northwestern Novgorod Oblast, had a population of around 13,600 in 2025, according to Rosstat. This defensive perimeter includes the Khotilovo military base and a secret biological laboratory on Lisiy Island. Satellite images show the perimeter covers both the Khotilovo military airfield and the laboratory complex, where one tower forming the outer defensive line stood at the Khotilovo military air base by March 2026. Putin uses this base regularly and a dedicated railway branch connects it to his Valdai residence. RFE/RL published an investigation into the secret laboratory on the island on September 3, around the same time construction began on two new air defense towers in the area. Other air defense sites sit along the shores of the Vyshny Volochyok Reservoir. Pantsir or Tor units sat south of the residence within the 50-kilometer zone by October. No positions exist along the northern section of the perimeter yet, though the report said other sites could be established in the coming months.
Kremlin’s drone claims
The Kremlin’s version of past drone attacks lacks credibility. On December 29, 2025, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of attacking the Valdai residence with more than 90 drones. Russian officials claimed the drones carried 6-kilogram (13-pound) high-explosive warheads, but they said air defenses intercepted all of them with no casualties or damage reported. President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the accusation a "lie." They claimed Moscow fabricated the event to undermine Ukraine’s standing with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and derail ongoing peace efforts. In early January 2026, the CIA informed Trump that Ukraine had not targeted Putin’s Valdai residence, as U.S. intelligence assessed that Ukrainian forces struck a military facility in the same region that night, but far from the Russian president’s residence. I find the Russian claims about the drone interception entirely suspect as the intelligence data contradicts the Kremlin’s narrative of a successful defense against a massive drone swarm.
