Anti-aircraft system seen near Putin’s house. The model chosen should give the Russian leader a scare

An airborne system has been set up just six kilometres from Putin’s official home in Valdai, a town near Moscow, the independent publication Meduza reports.

According to the same source, three military personnel are permanently stationed at the system. Pictures of the platform were sent by a local to an independent publication.

The system of choice is the Pantsir-S1, touted by the Russians as state-of-the-art. However, the platform has not fared very well in the actual military conflicts in which it has participated. Israel and Turkey have destroyed several such systems in Syria, as have the Ukrainians in recent months.

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Pantsir uses medium-range surface-to-air missiles and is supposed to provide protection against planes, helicopters, drones, guided bombs, air-to-surface missiles and cruise missiles. In Ukraine, Russia has lost at least 13 Pantsir-S1 units, according to OSINT. At least two were abandoned by the Russians due to technical problems.

Such a system costs up to $15 million.

The decision to install a Pantsir unit near Putin’s residence was made after Ukraine attacked two military airfields deep inside Russian territory.

Other military systems aggressively promoted for export by Russia, but which have not fared well in Ukraine, are the Su-35 multirole aircraft, the S400 anti-aircraft system or the Tigr armoured vehicle.