Facing a sharp rise in Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes, Russia is reportedly extracting cutting-edge air defense systems from across the country and deploying them to strategic locations, including the capital Moscow and the Kerch Bridge.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on June 24 that Russia is turning Moscow into a fortified air-defense hub equipped with S-400 and S-500 air-defense systems. “In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers for S-400, S-500, and Pantsir systems,” the President said in the video that was posted to X.
Zelenskyy claimed that the Kremlin is pulling air defenses from other regions to deploy them in Moscow, Valdai, and at the Kerch Bridge.
“Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia, and a special air defense division is also being formed there to safeguard the peace and quiet of the Russian chief.”
Other Russian cities have been left with only a few air defense units each, the Ukrainian President stated, adding that the redeployment indicates that Russia is willing to slice defenses across much of its territory to reinforce Moscow and a few priority locations.
“To compare, there are only a couple of launchers per direction across Russia and around their other cities. Those are their priorities. They are protecting their power – the source of this war. More than 60 Russian regions are already experiencing fuel shortages. There has also been a sharp increase in gas and diesel prices – if they are available at all,” he stated.
These claims could not be independently verified. Moreover, the Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on these claims at the time of writing this report.
However, Russia has been strengthening the air defense in Moscow and other regions that are regularly targeted by Ukraine. This includes actively deploying Pantsir air defense systems on the rooftops of high-rise buildings, as the EurAsian Times previously reported.
Zelenskyy’s latest assertion about Russia deploying hundreds of S-400 and S-500 to Moscow and priority areas like the Kerch Bridge comes at a time when the Russian military is barely coping with repeated long-range Ukrainian strikes on critical energy infrastructure, military facilities, and logistics hubs in the country.
Earlier this month, Ukraine launched the biggest reported drone offensive on Moscow and targeted the Moscow Oil Refinery, located just 15 kilometers from the Kremlin. The attack caused extensive damage to the refinery, the largest supplier of fuel to Moscow, dealing one of the biggest blows to Russia in the war. The residents near the targeted refinery later complained of black rain.
The mass drone onslaught signified that the war was closer to home than ever before and forced Russia to shut down its airports. According to a recent Reuters report citing two informed sources, the refinery is likely to remain shut for about 6 months.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, such as gas refineries, in recent months, as hostilities continue to intensify between the two sides. The strikes have targeted refineries and depots in regions such as Tyumen in Siberia, Krasnodar Krai, Voronezh, Volgograd, and Crimea—contributing to a sharp rise in fuel prices.
This may have prompted Russia to order the reinforcement of air defense systems in Moscow and nearby regions, if at all. The rise in fuel prices and energy shortages could affect the Russian military campaign and impose a cost on the country’s citizens at a time when Putin’s war has become increasingly unpopular across the country.
Ukraine has also conducted a sustained campaign against Russian logistics into Crimea, targeting the Kerch Bridge corridor, oil terminals, ferries, and related infrastructure.
On June 21, Ukrainian forces struck energy and military targets on both sides of the Crimean Bridge. The strikes targeted radar systems, gas compressors, and oil terminals, according to Robert Brovdi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, known by the call sign “Madyar.” Meanwhile, images and videos on social media depicted a fire at an oil facility in the Crimean city of Kerch.
More recently, on June 23, Ukrainian forces announced the destruction of a key railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal in a series of strikes, describing it as the “first one” to be eliminated. “It formed part of a transport corridor used to move cargo, resources, and military supplies in two key directions: from Russia through Crimea to support forces operating in the southern direction,” Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) stated.
From the Crimean Bridge, the Kerch port looks like this…
🔥 Defiant and unmistakable. pic.twitter.com/EhG76W8dIc
— UAVoyager🇺🇦 (@NAFOvoyager) June 24, 2026
The Kerch bridge facilitates the movement of military supplies and civilian goods, and its collapse could isolate Crimea. Moreover, the Kremlin views the bridge as a key element of its territorial integrity and has repeatedly taken significant measures to defend it.
The other region that Russia is trying to defend, according to Zelenskyy, is Valdai. Though no confirmed strikes on the city have been recorded in recent days, Valdai is home to Putin’s residence—a heavily fortified compound on Lake Valdai, about 360–400 kilometers northwest of Moscow. Earlier this month, anti-drone protective netting (similar to battlefield systems) was installed over truck parking areas along the M-10 highway in the Valdai district, approximately 9 kilometers from Putin’s residence.
Russia’s Most Advanced ADs Defending Moscow
The S-400 Triumf is a highly advanced Russian mobile long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system designed to provide layered air defense against a wide array of threats, including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
The diverse arsenal of interceptors allows operators to engage a range of targets effectively, from low-flying threats to high-altitude aircraft.
The system uses advanced radars, such as the 91N6E “Big Bird” for acquisition out to 600 kilometers and the 92N6E “Grave Stone” for engagement, providing 360-degree coverage. It can track hundreds of targets at once, while simultaneously engaging dozens.
The system has been extensively used in combat to defend against deadly Ukrainian missiles and drones in the ongoing war.
Additionally, it showed its prowess during the May 2025 Indo-Pakistan conflict by defending against a barrage of drones and missiles, and by scoring a kill of Pakistan Air Force’s Saab Erieye-2000 AWACS aircraft at a distance of more than 300 kilometers, as per the Indian Air Force’s claims.
Meanwhile, the S-500 Prometheus is Russia’s next-generation surface-to-air missile and anti-ballistic missile system, developed by Almaz-Antey as a successor and complement to the S-400. It is designed not only for traditional air defense but also for engaging high-altitude and near-space threats, including ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, low Earth orbit satellites, and advanced stealth aircraft.
The S-500 reportedly has a claimed engagement range of up to 600 kilometers against aerial and ballistic targets, with intercept altitudes of 180–200 kilometers, enabling exo-atmospheric engagements. In fact, the Russian officials position it as a “near-space shield” capable of countering emerging threats that lower-tier systems cannot handle effectively.
The system can reportedly detect ballistic missiles at ranges up to 2,000 kilometers and airborne targets at up to 800 kilometers.
The S-500 uses advanced radars, including the 91N6E(M), 96L6-TsP, 76T6, and 77T6, along with new interceptor missiles such as the 77N6-N/N1 series, which use a hit-to-kill mechanism, providing a more advanced defense than blast-fragmentation warheads used by its predecessors, such as the S-400 and the S-300.
With its advanced radar capabilities and sophisticated signal processing, the S-500 can reportedly detect and track stealth aircraft, diminishing their ability to evade detection in defended airspace.
The S-500 can engage up to 10 targets simultaneously and features a rapid response time of just three to four seconds, which is an improvement over the S-400.
The system is road-mobile like the S-400, allowing rapid deployment. Moreover, it is also intended to form part of a layered air and missile defense network, working alongside S-400 and Pantsir. Interestingly, reports last year suggested that an entire regiment of S-500 had been deployed to protect the Kerch Bridge.
A potential joint deployment of these two cutting-edge ADs anywhere would turn the place into a near- impenetrable fortification.
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