Top News

Vladimir Putin has significantly ramped up air defences around a palace he shares with his alleged secret wife and their two young children, as he begins to look increasingly paranoid.

While the war in Ukraine rages on, at least a dozen towers have been erected to house the Pantsir air defence systems near his Valdai residence, located 230 miles northwest of Moscow. The Russian missile system is defined as a Short-Range Air defence gun/Missile System designed by Russia.

In contrast, Moscow, with its population of 20 million, is estimated to have 62 air defences of this type to protect it from potential Ukrainian strikes.

Just a year ago, only seven air defence towers were observed around Valdai.

The heightened security measures, which also include the Russian S-400 air defence system, come as Ukrainian drones regularly infiltrate deep into Russia in retaliation for Putin's ongoing war.

"Putin's residence in Valdai, where his sons' mother Alina Kabaeva often spends time, is already surrounded by 12 air defence positions, mostly with Pantsirs on the towers," reported Svoboda, an independent media outlet that tracked the development.

Alina Kabaeva is a Russian Olympic gymnastics champion who has long been believed to be President Vladimir Putin's partner, according to The Moscow Times.

"Twelve towers with Pantsirs around Putin's residence is only 5 times less than the number of air defence positions that Radio Liberty, with the help of OSINT enthusiasts, discovered since 2022 in Moscow and the Moscow region, whose population is more than 20 million people."

The expansive palace, nestled among forests and lakes, includes a main house and a separate home for Kabaeva, 42, and the couple's two children, Ivan Putin, 10, and Vladimir junior, six.

Ivan was seen earlier this year at a gymnastics event held at Valdai.

The high-security retreat is accessible by its own railway line, which accommodates Putin's personal armored train, while the exclusion zone around the estate is said to be larger than the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Proekt reported that "A small karting track was set up on the site of former helipads, and right next to the residence, a large children's playground in yellow and blue [the colours of Ukraine] was erected deep in the woods between 2016 and 2020."

Putin has never publicly acknowledged his young family, but he was reportedly furious over leaks regarding his gymnast mistress and their Valdai palace complex, funded by an official slush fund.