Panic in Russia as Putin’s paranoid cronies wrap netting round nuclear subs | World | News

Russia’s nuclear submarine fleet is now shielded from drone attacks in a new sign of mounting paranoia from Vladimir Putin – despite being nearly 5,000 miles from the front line in Ukraine. Satellite images reveal anti-drone nets draped over some of Putin’s most important nuclear submarines at a secretive Pacific naval base.

The new move implies the Kremlin fears a Ukrainian sabotage attack in the Russian Far East. The space images showing top secret Rybachiy submarine base on the Kamchatka Peninsula highlight two Borei-class ballistic missile submarines cocooned under fine mesh netting designed to thwart kamikaze drones. The base is some 4,600 miles east of the war zone in Ukraine, yet Russian commanders are taking no chances. Each Borei-class submarine carries 16 Bulava nuclear missiles with a range of around 5,800 miles.

2It is likely that, if the nets are deemed practical and necessary, other nuclear submarines will also receive the treatment,” reported Naval News.

The vessels seen draped in lightweight netting while moored in port appear to be a standard Project 955 Borei submarine alongside a newer Borei-A variant.

The protection is the equivalent of the cages now installed on tanks and armoured vehicles – a phenomenon that has appeared during the Ukraine war.

Russian warships in the Black Sea have already been photographed fitted with crude metal cages, netting and overhead barriers intended to stop Ukrainian FPV drones from dropping explosives onto vulnerable deck areas – but this is far closer to the war zone. The Rybachiy images mark the first known example of entire nuclear submarines being wrapped in anti-drone protection.

The development comes amid fears in Moscow that Ukraine could attempt another long-range surprise strike similar to Operation Spiderweb — a devastating covert drone attack launched from trucks in close proximity to Russian targets rather than directly from Ukrainian territory.

Na Peredovoy, a prominent pro-war Russian Telegram channel with around 450,000 followers, acknowledged the significance of the images. “Anti-drone nets have now reached Russia’s nuclear submarines too,” the channel wrote.

“It appears Pacific Fleet commanders are trying to limit the possible consequences of a repeat of Ukraine’s ‘Spiderweb’ operation against Russia’s nuclear triad.”

Yet the lightweight nets would likely only offer protection against small FPV drones rather than larger long-range strike UAVs carrying heavy warheads.

Naval specialists say the mesh could also create new dangers for crews in an emergency situation. Historically, anti-boarding nets have trapped sailors aboard sinking vessels – most famously on Henry VIII’s warship Mary Rose, which capsized during battle in 1545 with nets hampering escape routes.

Russia has recently experimented with improvised drone protection measures across its fleet. Submarines operating in the Black Sea, Baltic and Arctic have been observed fitted with metal mesh above bridge hatches to stop drones dropping grenades directly into command compartments.

Off occupied Crimea this month, the Russian Black Sea Fleet reportedly began installing crude “mangal” anti-drone structures on Project 21980 Grachonok patrol boats amid continuing Ukrainian UAV attacks.

A K-114 Tula project submarine from Russia’s Northern Fleet with a cage on its conning tower was seen in Gadzhiyevo, in the Arctic Murmansk region.

The new Pacific Fleet defences suggest that nowhere in Russia now feels safe from Ukraine’s rapidly expanding drone warfare capabilities — not even the Putin’s nuclear arsenal seen time zones east of the war zone.