Ukrainian drone attacks deep within Russia have forced Vladimir Putin to beef up the defences around his heavily guarded palace north of Moscow.

Satellite images revealed at least seven medium-range air defence systems have been stationed close to the perimeter of the sprawling forest estate on the shores of Lake Valdai, according to the US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Ukraine’s relentless drone strikes, that have successfully targeted Russian air bases, have forced Moscow’s military command “to prioritise limited air defence assets to cover what it deems high-value targets”, the ISW said.

The satellite images, taken on May 6, appear to also show the Pantsir-S1 air defence units are accompanied by surface-to-air missiles and a long-range radar station.

There are reports the new defence systems have been operational since the spring, when Ukraine began stepping up its attacks on enemy infrastructure hundreds of miles inside Russia.

However, such static coverage of a singular target is likely meaningless because it allows Ukrainian drones to bypass the air defences and strike from uncovered directions, analysts warned.

The vast property in Russia’s Novgorod region, prominently located equidistant from both St Petersburg and Moscow, features several gold-coated palatial mansions and is Putin’s most-private residence, where he almost never holds meetings.

Once considered far out of reach from Ukrainian threats, that myth was broken this January when Kyiv’s security sources said their forces had flown a drone right over the palace en route to attack an oil terminal near St Petersburg.

It marked the first time a drone had targeted Putin’s home region, Leningrad, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

The response to prioritise the palace has, however, stretched thin the defences in the surrounding region and St Petersburg, according to the Russian Telegram channel, VChK-OGPU.

The channel, which claims to have links to Russian security services, said on Sunday that sources reported an “acute shortage of technical means for detecting small air targets and mobile air defence missile systems capable of shooting them down”.

Reports also suggest Putin has been shoring up the defences surrounding his Black Sea estate, an imperial-like dacha reportedly worth $1 billion (£738 million) close to Sochi, since Ukrainian drone attacks began to target the area in October 2023.

The 190,000ft winter palace has been protected by a no-fly zone overhead since 2021 and is rumoured to have a complex tunnel system built for his safety, an ice rink and pole-dancing room.