Vladimir Putin has moved one of his air defence systems a few metres from Moscow’s oil refinery after Ukrainian drones damaged the facility.
Moscow was shrouded in noxious black smoke last week and coated in oil rain after a drone strike hit Moscow’s Oil Refinery.
The onslaught – thought to be Ukraine’s biggest attack on the Russian capital so far – caused significant damage across the city as air defences struggled to repel the drones.
Now, Putin has moved a Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and gun system just a few hundred metres away from the oil refinery.
Russia has long boasted of its anti-aircraft systems, but recent aerial attacks from Ukraine have shown the system is outdated.
The newly moved Pantsir system is also surrounded by a metal cage, which is common on systems which have been deployed near the frontlines – meaning Putin likely relocated one of his soldiers’ systems to protect Moscow.
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The Russian president is failing to gain significant traction on the front line while losing ground in several areas.
Reports from analysts have also shown that the Russian leader is becoming increasingly paranoid for his own safety, often working from bunkers.
Putin has even abandoned his favourite palaces, fearing they could be targets of drone strikes by his own entourage.
The President’s Security Council Secretary, Sergei Shoigu, who served as Minister of Defence during the first years of the war, is allegedly one of the figures Putin fears could try to topple him.
The Kremlin has already tried to weaken Shoigu’s power, arresting his former deputy last month under suspicion of corruptly making over £50 million in family assets.
Fears of another coup, after the Wagner rebellion in 2023, are growing for Putin, with the Federal Protective Service saying it has ‘significantly tightened security measures’ around Putin.
Any visitors to the Presidential Administration now undergo two levels of screening and a full body search.
Putin has also slashed the number of location she visits – avoiding his usual haunts in Novo Ogaryovo and his Valdai palace.
Putin lives with his glamorous Olympic gymnast partner Alina Kabaeva, 42, and their sons Ivan, 11, and Vladimir, six. The children use the family name Spiridonov.
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