Pickup with anti-aircraft machine gun turns up in Putin’s motorcade
A pickup truck fitted with an anti-aircraft machine gun has turned up in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motorcade, according to Telegram channels.
The truck was spotted in Vladivostok, where Putin had traveled to attend the Eastern Economic Forum.
Putin also descended from his plane in Vladivostok using a boarding staircase with an arch-shaped cover. The news outlet Sibir.Realii reported that this type of staircase first appeared on August 31 in Bishkek and had not been used during his trips around Russia in early August.
Putin has started making regular trips to cities across Russia as elections to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, approach. From late 2025 until early summer, he traveled nowhere except Moscow, St. Petersburg, and his residence in Valdai.
On July 1, Putin expanded the central staff of the Federal Protective Service (FSO) responsible for his security, the fourth such expansion since the start of the Russia–Ukraine war.
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