Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty since 2003. Views of my own. RT = interesting. Read the whole threads before replying. Email krotovm@rferl.org for inquiries.
Prague, Czech Republic
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1/ Looks like yet another air defense ring is being built around Moscow, this time with S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. I found the new position near Moscow State University – right next to the 'Innopraktika' Foundation, headed by Putin's daughter, Katerina Tikhonova.
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In spring 2022, Hunter Biden’s laptop was cracked (not for the first time, though) using Russian-made Oxygen Forensics software also used by FSB, FBI, police, and secret services all around the world. Our latest investigation with @pustota and @Mike_Eckel. rferl.org/a/russia-us-oxygen…
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Oxygen Forensics makes powerful software that can extract data from phones and computers, even breaking through password encryption. It’s been sold to the FBI, the Pentagon, the Secret Service, Britain’s most important police force, and European police agencies.
The company said it was American. The Justice Department says that’s a lie. It’s Russian owned. And Russian developed.
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1/ Together with @jembob (well, mostly him😅), we found 15+ new towers within a 50 km radius of Putin’s Valdai residence, forming an 'outer ring' facing south (toward Ukraine).
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It is autumn in Valdai, and time for the latest manifestation of Putin’s paranoia.
A new air defense ring of ~16 SHORAD towers so far, was constructed in September.
The total number of towers for the protection of Valdai is now 49 or 50.
⚠️the towers are not yet confirmed!
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/8 My other dynamic air defense maps: 1) Moscow and Moscow Oblast: google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1… 2) Alabuga: google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1…
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1/ First satellite image of the aftermath of the Ukrainian strike on the 'Proton' plant in Oryol by @planet: a building where semiconductor silicon wafers were manufactured and an adjacent one where microchips for Russian weapons systems were produced.
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Nothing to see here, just a cute hatch lock on a Leopard 2A4 tank. Who can tell me what this hatch is for? (a honest question!).
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1/2 The number of confirmed air defense towers and ramps in Alabuga, the main production facility for Russian strike drones, has reached 33, as a new @planet high-res image taken today, Oct. 21, shows. Ukraine hasn’t attempted to strike the site since June 2025.
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2/2 My dynamic map of air defense positions in and around Alabuga can be found here: google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1… @jembobineuse
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1/3 How many air defense towers does Putin need to cover his Valdai residence (the green pin), where his sons and their mother, Alina Kabaeva, are known to spend quite a lot of time? With @jembobineuse’s new findings, it’s now 12. google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?m…
I have another confirmed one in Valdai (south of airport)
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Streetview: yandex.com/maps/10907/valday…
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2 Read the full thread above 🔼Check the map here ▶️google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1…
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Thanks to @jembobineuse, I was able to add four new air-defense towers to my map of SHORADs around Putin’s Valdai residence (google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1…). The closest one is now just 400 m from his main house. 31 tower in total now + two S-400 positions.
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First satellite images (by @planet) showing the aftermath of Ukraine’s Oct. 11 strike on a Yandex data center near Vladimir, Russia, which caused major internet service outages across the country. At least five buildings were affected, four of them sustaining significant damage.
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1/4 The 22nd Tank Storage Base, 500 km from the NATO border, is being replenished with new T-90M tanks, as seen in a comparison of @planet satellite images from October 2025 and October 2026.
Mind you, the 22nd with T-90Ms, BTR-82As and BMP-3ms (and maybe BREMs) is just the latest storage depot beign refilled. There's also the 80th mainly with 2S19s and the 374th near the Finnish border with 2S43s and 2S44s since 2025...
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3/4 The 349th storage base, northern part, significant increase of vehicles. Oct. 15 2026 vs Oct. 2025.
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4/4 Read the full story about Russia replenishing its depleted tank and other equipment storage bases here: svoboda.org/a/zapasy-dlya-no…
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