The Kremlin declined to say on Friday whether Russia was preparing for strikes on Moscow after footage emerged on social media showing the installation of air defense systems in the Russian capital.
• Read also: Delivering long-range weapons to Kyiv would lead to escalation, Kremlin warns
The images appeared to show Pantsir S-1 systems intended to intercept cruise and ballistic missiles in particular.
The air defence system in Moscow 🇷🇺 is being strengthened.
According to local channels, a few kilometres from the Kremlin, a Pantsir-S1 SAM system has been installed on the roof of a building. pic.twitter.com/8jFuTMwJaA
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) January 20, 2023
Muscovites have seen one appear near a building of the Ministry of Defense or another hoisted on the roof of a building in the center of Moscow.
Another Pantsir was installed about ten kilometers from the residence of President Vladimir Putin in Novo-Ogariovo near Moscow, according to Russian media.
Asked whether Russia feared Moscow was a target, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to answer on Friday, referring the question to the Defense Ministry.
“They are responsible for ensuring the security of the country in general and the capital in particular, so it is better to ask the Ministry of Defense about all the measures that are taken,” Peskov told reporters.
Contacted by AFP, the Ministry of Defense did not respond.
Russia has experienced in recent months several attacks attributed to Ukraine, whether sabotage or drone strikes and artillery fire on border regions.
In December Moscow accused Ukraine of several drone strikes on a strategic bomber base in Engels, in the Saratov region, 600 km from the Ukrainian border.
Kyiv is demanding the delivery of long-range weapons from the West to strike deep into Russian logistics lines. However, the latter fear that such weapons will lead to an escalation of the conflict launched in 2022.
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