00:00Russian leader Vladimir Putin moved this year's annual Discussion Club conference
00:05Valdai from Sochi to Moscow due to security concerns following the increase in attacks
00:11with Ukrainian drones, according to the Financial Times.
00:14Initially, around 120 participants had been invited to attend the event.
00:20Sochi, but last month the organizers informed them of the change of venue after
00:25Putin's security service insisted on the relocation.
00:28Putin has not visited Sochi since the previous Valdai summit, held in early 2006.
00:34October 2025.
00:36Ukrainian defense forces routinely attack facilities in Sochi and other locations
00:41along the Russian Black Sea coast, including a September 9 attack using boats
00:47unmanned vessels against the Sochi coastline.
00:50The change of venue highlights the Kremlin's growing concern about security
00:55Putin responds to Ukrainian medium and long-range drone attacks.
00:59Neither Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, nor representatives of the Valdai Club responded.
01:04to requests for comment, according to the Financial Times.
01:07The 2026 meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club is scheduled for the 28th
01:14September to October 1.
01:16Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak are expected to attend.
01:22and presidential advisor Maxi Moreshkin will speak alongside Putin at the conference.
01:29On September 12, 2026, a Ukrainian drone maneuvered under fire from a Russian helicopter
01:36interceptor before successfully impacting the sanctioned Russian oil tanker Armada Lider,
01:41near Sochi. The attack was part of the ongoing Operation Molochka by the Armed Forces.
01:48of Unmanned Systems, a campaign aimed at disrupting Russian shipping and
01:54oil exports from the shadow fleet transiting the Black Sea
01:59and Deasov heading towards the Bosphorus. According to Commander Robert Brovdy, the forces
02:05Ukrainian vessels reached a total of 285 boats during the first 10 weeks of the operation
02:12including 215 in July, 54 in August and 16 during the first 11 days of September,
02:20This seriously threatens military supply lines to occupied Crimea and cuts off revenue.
02:26crucial resources that finance the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Drone and missile attacks
02:33The situation in Ukraine is one of the key reasons why Putin has increasingly retreated into his own countries.
02:39bunkers, says Peter Dickinson, editor of Ukraine Alert magazine. Dickinson points out that the
02:46Aspiring Russian neo-sar Vladimir Putin is now fleeing from one refuge to another because he also fears his own
02:53The people know that all the talk about 80 percent approval ratings is a farce and it is
02:59aware that he has enemies within the Russian establishment itself.
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