Get you up to speed: Paranoid Putin moves air defences to Moscow after wave of drone attacks | News World
A drone attack involving nearly 200 Ukrainian drones struck Moscow, Russia, on 18 June 2026, primarily targeting an oil refinery. The strike caused debris to hit suburban areas, injuring 17 people, while authorities reported that the fire at the facility has been mostly contained.
Russian authorities reported intercepting nearly 200 Ukrainian drones in a significant attack, which led to injuries for 17 individuals, including two children. In response to the threats, Vladimir Putin has relocated an anti-aircraft system closer to Moscow’s oil refinery, indicating heightened security measures following recent aerial assaults.
Following a significant drone attack on Moscow’s oil refinery, President Vladimir Putin relocated a Pantsir anti-aircraft system closer to the facility in response. The Federal Protective Service announced it has “significantly tightened security measures” around Putin, which now includes two levels of screening for all visitors to the presidential administration.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how many Ukrainian drones were successfully intercepted during the recent attack in Moscow.
Putin relocates air defence system to Moscow oil refinery after drone attacks
A drone attack last week crippled much of Moscow and shrouded it in smoke (Picture: EPA)
Vladimir Putin has moved one of his air defence systems a few metres from Moscow’s oil refinery after Ukrainian drones damaged the facility.
The Russian capital was coated in noxious black smoke and oil rain last week after a drone strike hit Moscow’s Oil Refinery.
The onslaught – thought to be Ukraine’s biggest attack on the Russian capital so far – caused significant damage across the city as air defences struggled to repel the drones.
Now, Putin has moved a Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and gun system just a few hundred metres away from the oil refinery.
Russia has long boasted of its anti-aircraft systems, but recent aerial attacks from Ukraine have shown they appear to be outdated.
The newly moved Pantsir system is also surrounded by a metal cage, which is common on systems which have been deployed near the front lines – meaning Putin likely relocated one of his army’s systems to protect Moscow.
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Putin is becoming increasingly paranoid, those close to him have said (Picture: AFP)
The Russian president is failing to gain significant traction on the front line while losing ground in several areas.
Reports from analysts have also shown that the Russian leader is becoming increasingly paranoid for his own safety, often working from bunkers.
Putin has even abandoned his favourite palaces, fearing they could be targets of drone strikes by his own entourage.
The President’s Security Council Secretary, Sergei Shoigu, who served as Minister of Defence during the first years of the war, is allegedly one of the figures Putin fears could try to topple him.
The Kremlin has already tried to weaken Shoigu’s power, arresting his former deputy last month under suspicion of corruptly making over £50,000,000 in family assets.
The Ukrainian strikes which hit the oil depot were revenge for previous Russian attacks (Picture: AFP)
It is thought Putin’s fears of another coup after the Wagner rebellion in 2023 are growing, with the Federal Protective Service saying it has ‘significantly tightened security measures’ around the president.
Any visitors to the presidential administration now undergo two levels of screening and a full body search.
Putin has also slashed the number of locations he visits and is said to be avoiding his usual haunts in Novo Ogaryovo and his Valdai palace.
Putin lives with his glamorous Olympic gymnast partner Alina Kabaeva, 42, and their sons Ivan, 11, and Vladimir, six. The children use the family name Spiridonov.
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