Ukraine has conducted long-range drone attacks targeting air defense systems that protect Vladimir Putin's Black Sea palace, according to reports. The strikes have reportedly left the extensive complex, estimated to be worth £1 billion, less defended.
On August 7, a Volna Kupol Garant electronic warfare system was reportedly destroyed near the property in Gelendzhik, a resort town on the Black Sea. This system is used to jam satellite communications, including Starlink internet utilized by Ukrainian forces. Two days later, an S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, located approximately 12 miles from the palace, was struck. Satellite imagery indicates the destruction of at least one launcher, according to military analyst Yan Matveyev.
Major Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, stated that the S-400 system was left "ablaze and sputtering for three hours." The S-400 system had been repurposed to launch six missiles at Ukraine on the night of August 9.
The palace, which gained notoriety following an investigation by the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny, is described as a sprawling 17,700-square-meter complex. Navalny alleged in a January 2021 video that the property was built for Putin and funded by businessmen close to him. The complex reportedly includes a 16-storey underground bunker, an amphitheater, a helipad, a church, a casino, an ice rink, and a vineyard. It is said to be encircled by a 27-square-mile buffer zone with a strict no-fly zone enforced above it.
Reports suggest that due to fears of long-range drone strikes, Putin rarely visits the Black Sea property, preferring a fortified residence on Lake Valdai.
These strikes on air defenses near the palace come amid a broader series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian industrial targets. In recent days, significant fires have been reported at key facilities, including an Amazon online marketplace complex in Voronezh, an oil refinery in Orsk, and a petrochemical plant in Tobolsk. Military analysts suggest Ukraine is targeting Russia's oil economy, a key funder of its war effort. Meanwhile, Russia has continued its own attacks on Ukrainian-controlled territory, with missile and air bomb attacks on the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions resulting in civilian casualties.