has been avoiding his sprawling estate in Sochi due to concerns over potential drone attacks, according to fresh reports.
Putin is thought to have spent around 30 days a year at the luxury residence since it was renovated for the Sochi Olympics back in 2014.
But according to the independent Russian media outlet , the Kremlin warlord hasn't been at the Bocharov Ruchey property since March. 's last visit was for a meeting with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on March 6.But Proekt's investigation claims "felt a threat to his physical safety" after Sochi was targeted by multiple Ukrainian drone attacks in the autumn of last year, which has led to him staying away.
The outlet said a source close to the 72-year-old confirmed the theory, as per The Kyiv Independent.
It's a beloved retreat for Putin, where he has received world leaders, including a notable summit in 2008 with then-US President George W. Bush.
Ukrainian forces have successfully carried out various remote attacks on Russian soil since invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and it is thought Sochi could easily be targeted from both the sea and air.
According to , fears of being targeted in an aerial assault have also driven him to skip the traditional celebrations for his long-time partner Alina Kabayeva's birthday at the Black Sea residence.
The outlet also revealed that the main building of the residence was demolished earlier this year, and new construction is taking place.
The Sochi Pile is some 160 miles south of a £1 billion megamansion dubbed "Putin's palace," which became international news after late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released a video about the site. The Kremlin firmly denied that the garish residence belonged to the Russian leader.
Proekt's report also claims that the aircraft Putin uses could be monitored with live flight tracker Flightradar24 even until the end of the first year of the war.
But aircraft used by the Russian leader have been hiding their location since September last year as Ukraine has launched attacks on Russian territory.
