The Russian Defense Ministry said on January 21 that it held a training exercise in the Moscow region on repelling air attacks on military industrial and administrative facilities.
The ministry announced the exercise in a statement, saying that it involved an S-300 antiaircraft missile system.
"As they marched, soldiers repelled an attack by a mock enemy sabotage group on a military convoy," the statement said.
The ministry said 150 soldiers took part in the exercise but did not say where in the Moscow region the training took place.
The exercise took place days after images showing Russian officials installing air defense systems on the rooftop of the Russian Defense Ministry building in Moscow and elsewhere near the city began circulating on social media.
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the images. Asked whether the photos indicated that Russia was concerned Moscow could be a target, he referred questions to the Defense Ministry.
"They are responsible for ensuring the security of the country in general and the capital in particular, therefore it is better to ask the Defense Ministry about all measures that are taken," Peskov told reporters on January 20.
The State Duma Defense Committee called the photos and videos fakes.
Ulterior Motives?
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report on January 20 that the possible deployment of air defense systems in Moscow was not associated with the threat of an attack from Ukraine and is most likely based on ulterior motives.
“The Kremlin likely deployed the air defense systems in Moscow to generate inflammatory images that portray the war as more threatening to the Russian public,” the U.S.-based ISW said.
It added that is unlikely that the Kremlin believes that Ukraine would target Moscow but likely that the Kremlin engaged in the activities “to prepare the Russian domestic information space for a protracted war in Ukraine and further sacrifices.”
Reports about the deployment of air defense systems in Moscow also may demonstrate the intention of Russian authorities to draw parallels with World War II, presenting Ukraine as a country that poses a real threat to Russia, the ISW said.
This is likely meant to increase Russian support for the war effort and any further mobilization by “absurdly portraying Ukraine as threatening Moscow and the rest of the Russian heartland in a way to the way Nazi Germany did during its invasion of the Soviet Union,” the institute said.
Photos and videos showing antiaircraft missile systems installed on rooftops in central Moscow and near the residence of President Vladimir Putin in Novo-Ogaryovo, as well as near the Ostafyevo airport, began to appear on Russian social networks earlier this week.
One of the systems, the Pantsir S-1, was installed on the helipad of the main building of the Russian Defense Ministry, but the date of its installation could not be determined. Earlier, new S-400 air defense systems were seen on the outskirts of Moscow.
Reports on the installation of air defense systems on the rooftops of buildings in Moscow made note of drone attacks last month on Russian military airfields near Ryazan and Saratov, hundreds of kilometers from the battlefield in Ukraine.