Russia Is Withdrawing Air Defense Systems From The Arctic On A Large Scale
- 15.07.2026, 8:44
Key facilities were left unprotected.
Russia is reducing its air defense capabilities in the Arctic, leaving key military installations in the Far North unprotected as it attempts to defend facilities in other parts of the country from Ukrainian attacks. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, satellite images show that the Kremlin has removed S-300 and S-400 systems from several strategic sites in the region.
Katarzyna Zysk, a professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies, notes that the disappearance of many air defense systems from Russia’s Far North indicates a “growing mismatch between the targets Russia is supposed to defend and the launchers, interceptors, and trained personnel it has at its disposal.”
According to her, this does not mean that Russian strategic facilities in the Far North are now completely unprotected. However, as the expert emphasizes, “this suggests that Russia does not expect a large-scale attack in the region and believes it can reduce its defenses there without significant risk.”
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, about 60 percent of Russia’s S-300 and S-400 air defense systems have been removed from the locations where they were stationed prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, air defense units have largely remained in place around Russian nuclear missile silos and airfields for strategic bombers.
In Severodvinsk on the White Sea, where Russian nuclear submarines are built and repaired, several sites where air defense systems had been stationed for decades are now left unprotected. Satellite images confirm that about two dozen S-300 and S-400 systems have disappeared from their specially constructed positions throughout the city.
Meanwhile, the air defense systems being removed from the Far North are appearing near near more likely targets for attacks by Ukrainian drones.
Zisk notes that the current conflict demonstrates that “fixed targets are extremely vulnerable to drones.” According to her, it is still unclear whether Russian air defense batteries will return to their previous positions after the war in Ukraine ends—it is possible that the Kremlin will prefer to establish a “more dispersed, multi-tiered model” of defense.