As Russia’s war in Ukraine meanders into its second year just a few scant weeks from now, there are growing fears about just how desperate the Kremlin will become.
Things have not been going well for Vladimir Putin’s army. Understaffed and way, way under-motivated, Russia has already been forced to mobilize another 300,000 civilians to war. Tragically, most were allegedly used as cannon fodder at the front lines, making Putin’s purported plan to mobilize 700,000 more a little but complicated.
Now, as the United States’ CIA Director heads to Kyiv to warn the Ukrainians about whatever Russia has up its sleeve, some telling new military installments have arrived in Moscow.
Missile systems designed to intercept aircraft and incoming missiles appear to have been deployed on top of several defence and administrative buildings in downtown Moscow, signalling that the Kremlin is preparing for a potential, if unlikely, attack being directed on the Russian capital.
Photographs published on social media on Thursday showed a Pantsir missile system had been installed on the roof of an eight-story building used by the Russian defence ministry along the Moskva River.
Another video showed the air defence system being lifted on to the roof of an education building in Moscow’s Taganka district, 1.5 miles south-east of the Kremlin.
What exactly are they preparing to see in the skies above Mother Russia?
The short-to-medium-range systems are used to defend against aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles. The Russian military has also said they could be used against smaller targets, such as military and commercial drones, which have become ubiquitous on the battlefield since Vladimir Putin launched his wide-scale invasion in February.
The news comes just days after a Kremlin insider with deep ties to Putin suggested that a Russian loss in Ukraine was liable to start a nuclear conflict…something that would almost certainly see Moscow targeted in retaliation.
