Ukraine strikes leave Putins $1.5B Black Sea palace unprotected: report

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mysterious $1.5 billion Black Sea palace has been left “unprotected” following Ukraine’s repeated strikes on its air defense systems, according to a new report.The opulent compound, known as Putin’s Palace, has recently suffered attacks against both its electronic jamming systems and its anti-aircraft defense launchers, The Times of Moscow reported.“Satellite imagery shows the destruction of at least one launcher … Now Putin’s ‘palace’ is left unprotected,” military analyst Yan Matveyev told the outlet.The first major strike reportedly took place on Aug.7, with Ukrainian projectiles hitting a Volna Kupol Garant electronic warfare system stationed near the Black Sea palace.

The system, which covers more than 7 square miles, is used by Moscow to jam Starlink satellite communications — like the ones the Ukrainian military uses to coordinate attacks.With the jamming device removed, Kyiv’s drones were able to destroy the S-400 missile defense systems stationed nearby, touted Robert Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces.The strike was recorded on Aug.

9, with the S-400 charred to bits after burning for three hours following the assault, according to The Times of Moscow.The damages effectively leave Putin’s Black Sea getaway primed for a follow-up strike, Matveyev said.Putin’s Palace is a sprawling 190,000-square-foot compound at Cape Idokopas, located near the resort town of Gelendzhik, not far from Crimea, according to reports from authorities.The existence of Putin’s palace on the Black Sea, roughly 1,000 miles from Moscow, first came to light in a 2021 documentary video by Russian dissident Alexei Navalny — who died in 2024 while serving time in a Siberian penal colony.The palace was built with a casino, theater, hockey rink and vineyard — it even included a “hookah lounge” that reportedly served as Putin’s own seedy strip club.Navalny had claimed ...