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 Vladimir 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.

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Each Borei-class submarine carries 16 Bulava nuclear missiles with a range of around 5,800 miles. “It 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 war in Ukraine.

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.