Putin’s motorcade in Astana included an armored vehicle with a roof mount for a machine gunner

Source: Agentstvo

The motorcade accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Kazakhstan included an armored vehicle fitted with a roof mount for a machine gunner — though the machine gun itself was not installed, according to the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT).

A second vehicle carrying a structure on its roof was also spotted in the convoy. OSINT analyst Kirill Mikhailov said the structure could be an electronic warfare system; a CIT representative did not rule out that the vehicle may have been equipped with communications equipment.

Putin’s limousine was accompanied by 14 motorcycles and roughly two dozen cars, with a helicopter providing air cover, the independent Russian news outlet Agentstvo reported.

Channel 24KZ

Footage from Astana shows soldiers in camouflage uniforms carrying automatic weapons stationed along the routes Putin traveled, with armored vehicles blocking entry points at certain locations.

In early May, iStories, CNN, and the Financial Times reported, citing an intelligence report from a European country, that Russia’s Federal Protective Service fears an assassination attempt on Putin and has sharply tightened security measures as a result. In particular, the list of locations Putin visits has been radically reduced — he has stopped traveling even to his residences near Moscow and in Valdai. He is spending more and more time in bunkers. Agentstvo noted that the Russian president has not traveled to the regions since November 2025 and has barely appeared at public events.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

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