Vladimir Putin agrees that Russia must “improve” its air defense

Russia must “améliorer” et “to strenghten” its anti-aircraft defense, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Thursday, June 4, the day after Ukrainian drone strikes against an oil complex and a naval base in Saint Petersburg.

Ukraine regularly targets Russia and the territories occupied by Moscow in retaliation for the daily Russian bombings to which it has been subject since the start of the large-scale Russian offensive in February 2022.

Vladimir Putin also said he was considering expanding the use of the Orechnik intermediate-range ballistic missile to target Ukrainian cities. He repeated that this missile, already used three times without charge against Ukraine, was capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The Russian head of state affirmed that he was always ready to negotiate an exit from the conflict with kyiv, “on the basis of what we spoke during the meeting with President Trump“ in Anchorage, Alaska, in August 2025. Moscow is demanding political and territorial concessions from the Ukrainian government, including a complete withdrawal from the Donetsk region, which forms part of Donbass. Demands rejected by kyiv, which equates them with capitulation.