A pickup truck apparently fitted with an anti-aircraft machine gun accompanied Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motorcade after he arrived in Vladivostok on Wednesday, Sept. 2, while troops and military vehicles lined roads leading into the city.
Russian Telegram channel ASTRA reported that videos published by local channels showed the presidential convoy near Vladivostok airport. Kyiv Post could not independently verify when the footage was recorded or confirm the type of weapon visible on the pickup.
The footage appeared to show the armed pickup traveling among the vehicles in the presidential convoy. ASTRA described the weapon mounted on it as an anti-aircraft machine gun.
Military personnel and equipment were also reportedly stationed along the highway connecting the airport with Vladivostok. Residents complained in local chats about “huge traffic jams” caused by road closures, according to ASTRA.
Russian authorities did not publicly explain the deployment or disclose how long the restrictions would remain in place.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that Putin arrived in Vladivostok on Wednesday to attend the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) and hold meetings on the development of Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District.
The four-day forum opened on Tuesday, and will run through Friday. More than 5,000 representatives from 80 countries were expected to attend, according to Xinhua.
Why has security around Putin tightened?
The visible security deployment comes amid repeated Ukrainian long-range drone attacks against military, energy, and industrial facilities inside Russia.
Ukraine has expanded the range and scale of such operations, including a July raid involving more than 400 drones that Russian officials said targeted Moscow and the surrounding region.
The New York Times reported on Aug. 12 that Putin had increasingly restricted his movements as Ukrainian drones penetrated deeper into Russian territory.
According to the report, the Kremlin may use decoy presidential motorcades to conceal Putin’s location, while the Russian leader frequently travels aboard a specially equipped armored train with secure communication systems. Dedicated railway infrastructure has reportedly been built near several of his residences.
“Putin in this sense is a caricature of a figure who has taken everything happening around him to the point of absurdity,” investigative journalist Mikhail Rubin told the newspaper.
The Kremlin has not confirmed that the security measures seen in Vladivostok were related to Ukrainian drone threats or that Putin was traveling in the motorcade shown in the videos.