AS Vladimir Putin feeds waves of Russians into the meatgrinder in Ukraine, his capital city remains almost completely unscathed by the war.
The bloody carnage spiralling on the frontline is a far cry from peaceful life in cushy Moscow, experts told The Sun.
Life in Moscow has been largely unaffected by the war, experts say[/caption]
Meanwhile in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, air raid sirens sound daily and missile strikes are commonplace[/caption]
A Tomahawk missile is launched from the guided missile cruiser[/caption]
They laid bare how targeted mobilisation of ethnic minorities, fierce defence of the capital and mental insulation have all left Moscow in the eye of the storm as war rages on to its West.
Bombshell studies show half of all Muscovites say they are personally or financially unaffected by the war.
One in two also say they don’t know anyone fighting in Ukraine, according to the Levada Centre.
Russia analyst Mark Galeotti said the capital has been shielded from the destruction in Ukraine – where countless cities have been reduced to rubble.
He told The Sun: “In Moscow, you wouldn’t really know you’re in a war.”
Rare recruitment posters and drone attacks “from time to time” were just minor indications that the country was part of the largest European conflict since World War II, he said.
Meanwhile, Russia analyst Keir Giles explained why Putin has created a bubble for his crown jewel capital.
He told The Sun: “If the war hits home in those major cities, like Moscow and St. Petersburg, that’s a very different matter from carrying the costs of the war only on the most disadvantaged members of the population.”
The analyst described the full-scale invasion as “something which city dwellers can comfortably pretend only happens to other people a long way away”.
However, Moscow’s blissful ignorance may soon be shattered after the US hinted it will ship state-of-the-art Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is keeping his echo chamber capital largely unaffected by the war in Ukraine[/caption]
These weapons, which proved effective against Iran’s nuclear targets, would bring the capital city comfortably within Ukraine’s blast range.
Currently, Ukraine has been using Storm Shadow and Atacms missiles from the UK and US – but these fall short of Moscow.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told us: “Tomahawk missiles are hugely, hugely effective.
“These things fly well over 2,000 kilometres in stealth mode with several hundreds kilograms of explosives.
“Ukraine’s deep operations – attacking Russia‘s oil industry – have proven particularly effective, but have been conducted only with homemade drones.
“You get the feeling the Russians are pretty concerned about the prospect of cruise missiles with this range.”
Moscow locals documenting their experiences online have told how daily life so far has mostly gone unchanged following Putin’s invasion which, since February 2022, has displaced nearly 10 million Ukrainians.
When asked if the war had affected them personally, one Muscovite said on social media: “No, there is no significant difference.”
A woman takes a selfie at Zaryadye park with the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, pictured in September[/caption]
Moscow hosted an international Eurovision Song Contest rip off last month[/caption]
Tourists in Moscow, pictured in September[/caption]
Another local told The Times when asked the same question: “For our family personally, the special military operation hasn’t affected us at all, at least in daily life, no one we know is fighting.”
John Foreman CBE, former UK Defence Attaché to Russia, told The Sun that the Kremlin has desperately tried to keep many living in Putin’s echo chamber capital “immune from the war”.
He said Putin’s cronies have achieved this “both by recruiting from other far away areas but also by portraying the war as ‘special’ or ‘other’”.
Air raid sirens – which blare practically every day in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv – are rarely heard in Moscow, but are near daily occurrences in towns closer to the frontline.
Just last month, the Russian capital hosted a wacky £5million rip-off of Eurovision Song Contest dubbed Intervision – with contestants flying in from around the globe to participate.
A younger and more educated population has also helped Moscow’s drafting numbers stay low, Galeotti said, adding that university can mean exemption from being drafted for war.
Although Ukrainian forces have targeted Moscow in order to “bring the war home” to its millions of residents, Galeotti explained why this has been so difficult.
“When Ukrainians send long range drones against Moscow… Basically almost all of them get jammed or shot down,” he said.
“Moscow is very well defended.”
He also told how the US greenlighting long-range Tomahawk missiles could turn the tide in this aspect – allowing Ukraine to strike deep into the heart of Russia and stir chaos in the capital.
Last week, US Vice President JD Vance said Donald Trump was considering allowing Ukraine to use the consequential weapons.
Both experts agreed that the higher rates of volunteers fighting for Russia had everything to do with money.
Most who fight come from impoverished regions such as Dagestan in the North Caucuses or Buryatia near China, Galeotti said.
He said it’s explained by the government “offering salaries which are three-and-a-half times the average wage”.
Russian conscripts are more likely to be ethnic minorities drafted in regions outside of Moscow[/caption]
Two young women take a selfie in Alexander’s Garden near the Kremlin Wall in Moscow[/caption]
And generous signing-on bonuses death payments to grieving family members is also a massive incentive.
“That’s much less of an appeal if you’re in a relatively rich part of the country like Moscow or St Petersburg,” Galeotti said.
“Clearly it’s disproportionately valuable if you’re in a poor part where unemployment might be higher.”
Meanwhile, Giles said: “These are parts of the countryside where life hadn’t really changed, and standard of living hadn’t really improved since the 19th century.
“And now, suddenly, they have vast amounts of money pouring in, which has transformed lives and livelihoods.”
He told how this was “a major incentive for people to support the war, because it is making them very much better off”.
Giles said non-ethnic Russians are being disproportionately rounded up to fight in Ukraine.
“When Russia mobilises people to send them to the front line in Ukraine, it has tapped into the most powerless elements of society,” he explained.
“Whether it is prisoners, whether it’s people from the distant countryside, the poor – they have not, so far, mobilised people from the big cities.”
Participants run during the Moscow Marathon 2025[/caption]
Fire and smoke rise in the city after a Russian drone strike in Kyiv[/caption]
Russian frontline city of Kursk[/caption]
Since Putin introduced nationwide mobilisation in September 2022 as part of his ruthless invasion of Ukraine, 242 draftees from Moscow have died in Ukraine, according to BBC Russia and Mediazona.
By contrast, the non-ethnic Russian regions of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan have seen nearly 2,000 deaths combined.
Giles told how Putin sees citizens from these areas as “harmless targets for rounding up and sending to the frontline in Ukraine”.
And he said the “huge disproportion” between casualty rates from Russia’s other regions and the capital was “not surprising”.
With harrowing scenes of bullets and bombs blowing cities to shreds in Ukraine, Foreman suggested Moscow locals have consciously turned a blind eye.
Describing how locals were psychologically shielding themselves from the war, he said: “I think most of the insulation now is mental rather than physical.
“Everyone knows the real situation, especially given Ukrainian drone strikes and the effect of sanctions, but the majority of the population chooses apathetically to isolate themselves from the realities of war.”
How Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’ is menacing Nato
Brazen breaches into European airspace have been ramping up – and Western allies are now pointing the finger at Putin’s notorious armada.
The “shadow fleet” includes vessels with shady ownership details which are hard to trace back – making them ideal for transporting goods while avoiding sanctions.
French forces arrested two crewmates on an oil tanker – said to be part of the elusive fleet – on suspicion of helping launch drones into Danish and Norwegian airspace.
Nearly 1,000 of Putin’s ghost ships help the despot circumvent European trade bans – using opaque ownership structures and improper regulation.
And they employ a range of underhanded tactics to blindside authorities and get the better of Western allies.
Ship-to-ship transfers take place at sea, moving goods from one boat to another while avoiding the scrutiny of naval officials at ports.
Falsification is also rife – with mad Vlad’s armada lying about ship ID numbers and making up location data.
Displaying flags from countries with lower oversight is also a common strategy to throw off sea authorities, while some ships have even been accused of cutting sea cables.
The “shadow fleet” accounts for nearly 20 per cent of all active oil tankers in the world, according to The New York Times, and ships millions of barrels of Russian oil per day.
European allies have blamed the fleet for aiding Putin’s wide-reaching campaign of disruption.
Ukraine and its capital Kyiv face daily Russian strikes[/caption]
Putin continues to wage his war in Ukraine[/caption]
