Vladimir Putin arrived in Vladivostok to attend the 11th Eastern Economic Forum, running from September 1-4. Telegram channels and the local public page Svodka-25 reported seeing an anti-aircraft mount on a pickup truck in the presidential motorcade moving through the city.
Military personnel and military equipment were deployed along the route the motorcade took. Local residents complained of major traffic jams caused by road closures, according to Astra.
In Vladivostok, Putin for the second time this year used an aircraft stairway with an arched protective enclosure, Siberia.Realities noted. The structure was first spotted on August 31 in Bishkek, where the president arrived for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. During visits to Kazakhstan in May, Novosibirsk in August, and India in December 2025, Putin descended via an open stairway.
Military expert David Sharp linked the change to heightened security measures. In his words, if the glass around the stairway is armored, it could protect Putin in a vulnerable position — on the stretch between the aircraft and the ground, while security has not yet covered him.
From late 2025 until early summer, Putin did not travel outside Moscow, St. Petersburg, and his Valdai residence, and since July 1 he has for the fourth time since the start of the war increased the staffing of the central apparatus of the Federal Protective Service (FSO), which handles his security.