Ukraine has forced Russia to redeploy air defence systems from Far North to protect against strikes by AFU, – media SATELLITE IMAGES
Air defence systems have been removed from several strategically important sites in Russia’s Far North. They are being redeployed to other regions of the occupying country to protect them from attacks by Ukrainian UAVs.
This is reported in a Radio Liberty article, as reported by Censor.NET.
What is known?
The publication has released satellite images showing the redeployment of air defence units from several strategically important sites, which were previously protected by S-300 and S-400 systems.
Judging by the images, there is almost no visible air defence left there.
A satellite image from 6 July shows that, near the Rogachovo airbase on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Russian Arctic, most of the air defence equipment has been removed from an air defence position that had been in place since at least August 2015.
Analysts note that since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has withdrawn around 60 per cent of its S-300 and S-400 systems from permanent bases. The most significant redeployments have taken place from the Eastern, Central and Leningrad Military Districts.
"Most of the redeployed systems were found to be concentrated around Ukraine: specifically, in Crimea, and in the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod and Voronezh regions, as well as at airbases involved in the war. At the same time, additional deployments were detected in Moscow and around the capital, including the Tula and Kaluga regions, where they are likely strengthening defences against Ukrainian long-range strikes and form part of preparations for the emergence of Ukraine’s domestically developed ballistic missiles," the publication writes.
"In Severodvinsk – a city on the White Sea where Russian nuclear submarines are built and repaired – several air defence positions, which for decades have protected this strategically important facility, are now empty. As recent satellite images show, around two dozen S-300 and S-400 systems have disappeared from specially equipped sites around the city," the journalists noted.
Previously, The Barents Observer reported that the location of one of the systems withdrawn from Severodvinsk had been traced following the elimination of the S-400 crew commander.
Lieutenant-Colonel Vladimir Spiridonov was killed in occupied Crimea in April 2024, and his remains were returned to Severodvinsk for burial.
"Whilst air defence systems are disappearing from the Far North, others are appearing near facilities that are more likely to become targets for Ukrainian drone strikes. The photograph above shows several launchers with raised transport-launch containers – they were spotted near the Saratov Oil Refinery in south-western Russia. Since the start of 2025, this facility has been repeatedly targeted by drones, most recently less than a week ago," the authors concluded.
