Russian authorities deployed air defense systems on rooftops in Moscow after several drone attacks on military airfields near Ryazan and Saratov. It is reported by Bloomberg, citing officials familiar with the situation.
“The new installations will complement the existing anti-missile systems around the capital,” Bloomberg quoted its interlocutors as saying.
On January 19, photos and videos appeared on the network with military equipment placed on the roofs of houses in Moscow. As Telegram channels reported , supposedly Pantsir-S1 air defense systems were installed on buildings a few kilometers from the Kremlin. It was alleged that the installations appeared on the administrative building in Teterinsky Lane. Also, a photo of the building of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on Frunzenskaya Embankment with the same installation "Pantsir-S1" was distributed on the network. The authenticity of the published materials has not been confirmed. Yevgeny Lebedev, a member of the State Duma Defense Committee, called the pictures fake.
Ruslan Leviev, an expert at the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) investigative project, in an interview with The Insider noted that Ukrainian forces will not aim at Moscow.
“It is hardly worth panicking for the civilian population, at least in Moscow. I do not think that the Ukrainian forces will aim there. So far, only drones can fly deep into Russia for such distances, and Ukraine does not have an infinite number of them. These drones are not of some super-huge size, and even if one of them reaches Moscow and hits some military facility, there will hardly be super-significant destruction for it to affect the course of the war. Such drones should be spent more priority on those targets that are relatively close to the border, where there are ammunition depots, some kind of weapons, fuel and lubricants. When the Engels and Dyagilevo air bases were hit, some of the bombers had to be redeployed to farther distances, which helped Ukraine with mass rocket attacks on Russia, because it gives more time for the reaction of the missile launch from Russian bombers. This is just a precaution on the part of the Russian military and political command, and in this case they understand that the air defense systems that are located on the border between Russia and Ukraine are apparently insufficient. There are a significant number of gaps there. When the main echelons missed a flying missile or drone, then the last hope will remain for such an air defense installation that protects specific important objects.