For fear of Kiev's drones Did Putin have his favorite palace demolished?
The summer residence "Botsharov Ruchey" is said to be one of Vladimir Putin's favorite houses. Now he has apparently had the estate demolished for fear of Ukrainian drones.
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- Vladimir Putin usually spends several weeks a year at his summer residence "Botsharov Ruchey".
- According to satellite images, the property has now been demolished.
- According to investigative journalists, the drastic step was taken out of fear of possible Ukrainian drone attacks.
The Russian city of Sochi on the Black Sea is a popular spa and seaside resort. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin also has a summer residence there - or rather had a summer residence there: the independent Russian platform "Projekt" is now reporting that Putin had the building demolished.
"The main building was demolished," write the investigative journalists on X. They cite satellite images from May 2023 and May 2024 as evidence: While a large building complex is still visible a year ago, only a large empty area can be seen in the current images.
The affected property bears the name "Botscharow Rutschej". It consists of several buildings with their own access road, beach access and helicopter landing pad. The residence also included an office that looks like the one in the Kremlin. This allowed Putin to pretend to be in Moscow.
"Project" cites Putin's fear of possible Ukrainian drone attacks on his house as the reason for the demolition. With this drastic measure, he wanted to forestall the threat of destruction by enemy bombs.
Although "Botscharow Rutschej" is said to have been one of Putin's favorite residences, the loss should be bearable for him. Especially as he has numerous other properties, including on the Black Sea.