<p >A large scale Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian Kursk region on May 20 was reported by Russian sources five days later to have coincided with a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Air defence division commander Yuri Dashkin reported regarding the incident that president while onboard his helicopter was “at the epicentre of repelling a large-scale attack by the enemy’s drones… The intensity of the attack during the flight of the aircraft with the Commander-in-Chief over the territory of the Kursk Region increased significantly. Therefore, we simultaneously conducted an air defence battle and ensured the safety of the presidential helicopter’s flight in the air.” Dashkin’s statement indicates that the president’s helicopter may have been at risk. Drones have on multiple occasions been used to bring down combat aircraft during flight, including heavily armoured Russian military helicopters, which can be vulnerable due to their large sizes and relatively slow speeds compared to fixed wing aircraft.&nbsp;</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/05/25/article_68333ac7cde1f5_74793523.jpeg" title="President Putin Disembarks From Helicopter "></p><p >A further danger during an attack by multiple drones remains the possibility of friendly fire by local air defences, with incidents of Russian and Ukrainian shootdowns of their own high value aircraft while seeking to repel enemy air attacks having been reported frequently since the outbreak of full scale hostilities between the two countries in February 2022. There remains a significant possibility that the presence of President Putin’s helicopter during the Ukrainian drone attack significantly complicated air defence efforts, potentially forcing defenders to rely on infrared guided missiles, anti-aircraft guns, and electronic warfare, to reduce the possibility of friendly fire harming the commander in chief. Incidents where heads of state have been placed in the line of fire having been few and far between in the past half century, in particular for the leaders of major military powers such as Russia. There remains a significant possibility that the Ukrainian drone strike may have been launched in the knowledge of Putin’s general location.&nbsp;</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/05/25/article_68333d8bd040e8_76558715.jpg" title="President Putin During May Visit to Kursk"></p><p >Despite the current hostile state of relations between Russia and the Western world, Western <a href="https://time.com/6284209/after-vladimir-putins-rule-in-russia/" >assessments</a> have frequently cautioned against the possibility of President Putin’s forced removal from power, warning that alternatives within the Russian leadership are likely to be less favourable to Western interests. Ukrainian strikes near the Russian president’s location are nevertheless far from unprecedented, with a <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-failed-drone-attack-putins-residence" target="_blank">failed drone attack</a> having been launched on his residence in Moscow on May 2, 2023. The fact that Putin was not in the air at the time likely meant the risk to his life was significantly lower. There remains a significant possibility that such strikes have been intended to intimidate the Russian leader and send shows of force, and have not been carried out in the belief that there is a significant intention of taking his life.&nbsp;</p><p >A further possibility remains that Russian state media and Commander&nbsp;Dashkin may have exaggerated the extent to which the president was in a central position during the attack, as part of an effort to influence public opinion and portray him as placing his life at risk in a region which was until recently the most high intensity centre of hostilities in the war. Criticisms of the Russian state and armed forces by Kursk residents for allowing Ukraine to mount a months long invasion in August 2024, which resulted in significant casualties among Russian civilians, could provide an incentive for the state to convey the images of a common struggle by the president in the area.</p>
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