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Anti-aircraft systems will be installed in Moscow – including on an eight-story building of the Ministry of Defense.
Marian NadlerEditor News
The Kremlin is apparently afraid of attacks from Ukraine. Anti-aircraft systems have been installed on several administrative buildings in Moscow, including the Ministry of Defense. They are intended to render aircraft, helicopters, drones or rockets harmless.
For example, photos posted to social media on Thursday show a Pantsir-S1 missile system being deployed on the roof of an eight-story Russian Defense Ministry building. Another video shows the 35-ton anti-aircraft system being lifted onto the roof of an educational building in Moscow’s Taganka district, 2.41 km southeast of the Kremlin. Anything to protect yourself. The Pantsir-S1 missile system can engage air targets at a short distance of up to 20 kilometers. Cost per system: 15 million Swiss francs.
There is no official confirmation from the Russian military. However, several Russian media outlets have reported on the deployment of long-range S-400 missiles in Moscow in recent weeks. The S-400 missiles and the Pantsir-S1 system are often used together. Bloggers close to the Kremlin see the appearance of the missile systems as an indication that the Kremlin is increasingly concerned about Ukrainian attacks on Russian cities.
“It’s good to start planning in advance”
The fear is not unfounded. In recent months, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked targets on Russian soil. There were several explosions at military installations – including air force bases. The bases housed strategically important bombers deep within Russian territory. Ukrainian officials recently said the military has started testing long-range drones with a range of 1,000 kilometers. So Moscow would be within striking distance – which obviously makes the Kremlin uneasy.
“Russia has long made maintaining advanced ground-based air defenses a high priority, but it is becoming increasingly clear that it is struggling to deal with air threats deep within Russia,” Britain’s Defense Ministry wrote last year, a day after the blasts at Russia’s Engels Air Force Base.
Alexander Kots (44), a well-known Russian journalist who supports the war in Ukraine, believes that strikes against Moscow and other regions are only a matter of time. “It’s good to start planning in advance and not just after the first shots,” he says.
Forests are cleared to make room
It also fits that the Russian information channel VChK-OGPU, citing unnamed sources, announced a few days ago that the air defense shield is also being expanded in the regions around Moscow. Pictures on Telegram show how forests around the metropolis are being cleared – to make room, apparently for more air defense systems.
Recently, Kyrylo Budanov (37), head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, announced in an interview with “ABC News” that there will probably be further attacks on Russian territory – by spring at the latest. Then Ukraine will plan a “big push”. In December, Forbes reported that Ukraine possessed the necessary weapons to attack the Russian capital.
The images of the missile systems in Moscow also emerged a day before a meeting of Western defense ministers at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, where they hoped to agree on a new military aid package for Ukraine that could include the delivery of heavy tanks. The US has already pledged nearly $2 billion in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a Patriot air defense system designed to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles. (nad)