The imagery was reviewed by Radio Liberty and an OSINT analyst posting on X under the handle @jembobineuse. One tower of the "outer ring" was built as early as March on the grounds of the Khotilovo military base, which Putin is said to use regularly; a dedicated railway branch line runs from the base to the residence.
Several more positions were built on the shore of the Vyshnevolotsk reservoir, on Lisiy Island, where, according to a Radio Liberty investigation, a laboratory complex has been constructed, presumably linked to Russia's biological weapons program.
In total there are now more than 50 air-defense positions around Valdai, twice as many as in April. According to @jembobineuse's count, Russia has about 177 towers with short-range air-defense systems. About 98 of them are in and around Moscow, and about 50 around the Valdai residence. Fewer than 100,000 people live in Valdai, the Valdai district and within a 50-kilometer radius.
Journalists have not yet found positions on the northern part of the new ring; they suggest they may be built in the coming months.
The first air-defense system in the area of the residence appeared in January 2023, the second in July 2024. By April, satellite imagery recorded at least 27 crews.
In late December 2025, Russian authorities said more than 90 Ukrainian drones had tried to attack the Valdai residence. Ukraine denies the attempted attack, and President Volodymyr Zelensky called the information a fake. The CIA concluded that the target of the attack was a certain "military facility" that was not near the residence.
In the summer, authorities began covering the road to the Valdai residence with anti-drone nets. Conflict Intelligence Team founder Ruslan Leviev suggested the structures were being installed to prevent a repeat of Operation Spiderweb, the remote launch of attack drones at Russian strategic airfields from trucks.
According to the Dossier center, Alina Kabaeva spends a lot of time at the residence with her minor sons. In May, sources in one European intelligence service said Putin and his unofficial family had stopped going to Uzhin out of concern for their safety.
Sources disagree: Russian authorities claimed that more than 90 Ukrainian drones attacked the residence in December 2025; Ukraine and Zelensky deny this, and the CIA, according to media reports, believes the target of the attack was a different military facility.