Ukrainian partisans claim they located air defense system protecting Putin's dacha in Sochi

Ukrainian partisans claim they located air defense system protecting Putin's dacha in Sochi

Ukrainian partisans claimed on June 27 that they had located an air defense system covering the skies above Russian President Vladimir Putin's luxury dacha in Sochi.

In a post on Telegram, the ATESH group said they had discovered a Pantsir-S1 system a few kilometers along the coast from the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

Pictures and video accompanying the post show its spinning radar by the side of a road but concealed by a tall fence.

"ATESH discovered an air defense system that covers Putin's dacha in Sochi," they wrote.

"It is designed to protect against air threats and includes missiles, anti-aircraft guns, as well as a radar for detecting and tracking air targets."

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the group's claims.

While Putin is believed to have access to several luxury residences across Russia, the one that would be protected by an air defense system in this location is Bocharov Ruchey, a summer residence of Russian presidents built in 1955.

Last year Putin hosted Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan there when they discussed simmering tensions in the Black Sea.

The ATESH movement is highly active in both occupied areas of Ukraine and inside Russia itself.

Earlier this week it claimed one of its agents successfully infiltrated a Russian air base and hinted at carrying out sabotage operations.

In a post on Telegram on June 22, the group said it had scouted the Baltimore airfield in Voronezh, around 220 kilometers north-east from the border with Kharkiv Oblast and home to Russia's 47th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment.

Pictures and videos accompanying the post show several aircraft including a helicopter and what ATESH say are Su-34 fighter bombers, a plane Russia frequently employs to launch missiles at Ukrainian cities.

"In some of them, Russians now have surprises waiting for them," the post reads.

On June 12, the group said a Russian satellite communication station was destroyed in a sabotage attack in Moscow Oblast.

In a video posted by Atesh partisans on Telegram, an Atesh agent is seen pouring a flammable liquid on an R-441 Liven communications satellite. The communications station is seen subsequently catching fire.

The incident allegedly occurred in the Klin district of Moscow Oblast – approximately 85 kilometers (over 50 miles) northwest of the Russian capital.