Anti-drone nets installed on road near Putin residence
Anti-drone nets have been installed along a road about 9 km from Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin's residence in Valdai. An expert believes the measure is intended to protect the Russian leader from a repeat of a Ukrainian special operation.
Source: Ruslan Leviev, founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team research group, speaking on TV Dozhd (Rain); Russian Telegram channel Agenstvo
Details: Journalist Oleg Kashin reported on the evening of 7 June that nets had been installed above lorry parking areas in the Valdai district of Novgorod Oblast. Analysis by Agenstvo indicates that the nets are located about 9 km from Putin's official residence in Valdai. Such nets are used on the front line and can protect against small UAVs or munitions dropped from drones.
Leviev suggested that the anti-drone nets near Putin's residence are not intended to protect lorries from drones but rather to prevent a repeat of Operation Spiderweb, during which UAVs were launched from lorries.
The expert recalled that random lorry drivers had been hired for Operation Spiderweb and instructed to transport modular cabins to a specific location, park there and wait for a call from the customer. "When the drivers arrived at the designated location and parked, the trailer cabins suddenly 'came to life', their roofs opened and drones began taking off and flying towards military airfields," Leviev said.
According to the expert, the nets above lorry parking areas in Novgorod Oblast "are needed precisely so that if such a lorry arrives, its drones will not be able to fly anywhere because the net above the vehicle will obstruct them".
Quote from Leviev: "Parking directly on the road, where there is no net, is clearly not an option because the driver would obstruct traffic. Therefore, to protect against 'Spiderweb 2: the Valdai version', the places where a lorry carrying a modular cabin could potentially park need to be covered with nets."
Background:
- On 1 June 2025, 117 FPV drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and controlled by 117 pilots attacked five Russian airfields.
- The SSU reported that 41 Russian aircraft sustained varying degrees of damage, although this has not been independently confirmed.
- German officials stated that Operation Spiderweb may have damaged 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet.
- Pierre Vandier, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said the Alliance has much to learn from Ukraine, particularly its "creativity" in conducting military operations, as demonstrated by the SSU's Operation Spiderweb.
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