On 12 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a new phase of government discussions on the State Rearmament Program for 2027–2036, with the agenda focused on advancing air defense, space systems, drone capabilities, and robotic technologies, according to a 13 June report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The overhaul is part of Russia’s preparation for a prolonged war with Ukraine and potential future conflict with NATO, the think tank says.

During the meeting, Putin claimed that Russia’s air defense systems had ostensibly intercepted over 80,000 aerial targets since February 2022. Of these, 7,500 were described as operational-tactical and cruise missiles, which Putin said were “almost all” Western-made. He argued that Russia’s war in Ukraine demonstrated the need for a “universal air defense system” that can counter all types of projectiles.

Focus on AI, space capabilities, real-time command systems, naval rebuilding

Putin also emphasized the necessity for advanced digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to be deeply embedded in Russian military systems. He outlined goals to develop a fleet of new, unspecified spacecraft aimed at improving reconnaissance and enabling real-time command and control capabilities. The Kremlin is also investing in the modernization of the Russian Navy and seeking to rebuild the Black Sea Fleet, which has suffered heavy losses due to Ukrainian attacks.

“Putin’s statements regarding the need for enhanced Russian air defense systems are likely in part a response to Ukraine’s ‘Operation Spider Web,’ in which Ukrainian forces demonstrated an ability to achieve operational surprise and launch drones against airbases in Russia’s deep rear, highlighting the inability of air defenses in these areas to repel short-range Ukrainian first-person view (FPV) drone strikes,” ISW wrote.

Oil revenues may factor into strategy

Despite its ambitions, Russia’s ability to finance the vast rearmament remains unclear, ISW says. According to the think tank, the country’s defense industrial base (DIB) had already struggled with fulfilling both domestic and foreign military contracts before Western sanctions were imposed in 2022 in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 ISW suggests that rising oil prices—partly triggered by Israeli strikes against Iran—could help Russia finance some of its military goals if those prices remain elevated over the medium- to long-term.

Israel’s attack on Iran may have revived Moscow’s oil revenues for war

The think tank concludes that the Kremlin is likely using battlefield lessons from its war in Ukraine to “inform adaptations of Russia’s military and preparing Russia’s DIB for a protracted war against Ukraine and a potential confrontation with NATO.”

A massive leak of Russian military procurement files obtained by Danish and German journalists has revealed extensive details of the country’s nuclear weapons modernization program, including internal blueprints of missile bases and underground structures.

Danwatch and Der Spiegel journalists reportedly obtained and analyzed more than two million documents. They show not just the scale of physical reconstruction but also reinforce that Russia’s nuclear modernization is active, real, and more advanced than previously visible from open sources.

Leaked secrets from deep inside Yasny base

The publications obtained access to hundreds of original highly detailed technical blueprints, “that Danwatch systematically retrieved from a public database over a period of many months.” Those show how Russia has secretly rebuilt and fortified its strategic missile forces. The documents reveal comprehensive upgrades at sites like the Yasny base in Orenburg Oblast, one of 11 sites in Russia, where nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles are deployed.

Blueprints show the creation of triple electric fencing, underground tunnels, new barracks, remote-controlled weapons systems, surveillance infrastructure, and highly detailed interior layouts. The missile bases, once only observable from satellites, are now described room by room, including control centers, storage vaults, guardrooms, gyms, and even recreation areas.

“Entire bases have been almost leveled and rebuilt from the ground up; hundreds of new barracks, watchtowers, control centers and storage buildings have been erected; and several kilometers of underground tunnels have been excavated,” Danwatch wrote.

Intelligence goldmine

“This is the ultimate intelligence,” said Philip Ingram, former British Army intelligence officer. Hans M. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists added: “Now […] we can go inside the buildings… and all the way underground. It’s completely unprecedented.”

The leak is a result of poorly secured Russian procurement platforms, where confidential tenders and documents remained publicly accessible for years. Danwatch and Der Spiegel have identified blueprints for the strategic nuclear weapons bases attached to tenders as recently as the summer of 2024.

As conventional forces falter, Russia’s nuclear reliance comes into focus

Despite a 2020 law restricting public access to military tenders, journalists were able to retrieve sensitive data using digital methods and server networks across Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.

According to Norwegian expert Tom Røseth,

“This is information Russia would obviously want to keep hidden. It makes their bases potentially more vulnerable.”

The exposed facilities include those hosting the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle—central to Putin’s vision of renewed nuclear deterrence.

While Russia officially maintains that its nuclear doctrine prohibits the first use of nuclear weapons, the leaked documents coincide with a noticeable shift in its military posture. According to a statement provided to Danwatch by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (DDIS), Russia has become increasingly reliant on its nuclear arsenal as a means of deterrence against the West, largely due to the degradation of its conventional military capabilities amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.