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Ukrainian Drone Threat Pushes Putin’s Valdai Forum From Sochi to Moscow Region
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s annual Valdai Discussion Club meeting has been moved from the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to the Moscow region amid concerns that Ukrainian drones could pose a security threat.
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According to the Financial Times on September 15, four people familiar with the decision said Russia’s presidential security service pushed for the relocation because of concerns over possible Ukrainian drone attacks. Around 120 participants had initially been invited to Sochi before being informed in August that the venue had changed.
The Valdai Discussion Club confirmed on September 14 that its 23rd annual meeting will take place in the Moscow region from September 28 to October 1. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and the forum’s organizers did not respond to the FT’s requests for comment on why the event was moved.
Putin traditionally uses the annual Valdai meeting to outline his views on Russian foreign policy and the international order. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, and presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin are also expected to attend this year’s gathering.
The decision comes as Putin has sharply reduced his visits to Sochi, where he maintains the Bocharov Ruchey presidential residence. According to the FT, Putin has not appeared in the city since the previous Valdai conference ended in October 2025.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin regularly traveled to Sochi. The FT reported that he visited the city 24 times during the final year before the invasion but made only two trips in each of 2024 and 2025.
The reduced travel and relocation of the Valdai forum come as Ukrainian forces expand long-range drone operations against military and strategic targets inside Russia, including in the Krasnodar region surrounding Sochi.
On August 9, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian S-400 air defense position near Gelendzhik, according to Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi.
On September 4, another reported Ukrainian drone attack targeted an oil depot and an S-300 or S-400 air defense unit near Sirius, southeast of central Sochi. Putin’s Bocharov Ruchey residence is located several dozen kilometers from the area.
The FT reported that security concerns linked to the growing reach of Ukrainian drones were behind the decision to move this year’s Valdai gathering away from Sochi.
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-c48ada580368e27eb0f86be76e71d543.jpg "Ukrainian soldiers of the 54th Mechanized Brigade named after Hetman Ivan Mazepa during military training on October 1, 2025 in Ukraine. (Source: Getty Images)")
