Putin Uses $13M 'Armored Train' For Security Reasons Amid War: Here's What It Looks Like

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been using an "armored train" since the beginning of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year for long-distance trips from his home, according to a report.

The armored train, which Putin reportedly switched to in the fall of 2021, allegedly belongs to the Grand Service Express—owned by an offshore company associated with Putin ally Yury Kovalchuk and his acquaintance Mikhail Rabinovich. Putin's use of the armored train was revealed through an investigation carried out by the Dossier Center, which shared its findings in a video posted on YouTube on Monday.

"Vladimir Putin started using an armored train in the fall of 2021 when the Russian army began to actively prepare for the invasion of Ukraine. After the start of the war, he rides it more and more often, especially to his favorite residence in Valdai," the report said, as translated by Ukrainska Pravda.

The Dossier Center suggested that Putin may have chosen to use the armored train because passenger trains cannot be tracked in real-time. Additionally, flights are restricted on the Black Sea coast amid the war. Putin has two residences in the area.

The platform also said the armored train has a car with a bedroom and a workplace for Putin. It also has a car for accompanying personnel and another for special communications. The train has six axles and several locomotives with special equipment being kept on the roof.

The report estimates that the armored train costs about 1 billion Russian rubles (roughly US $13.4 million).

The existence of Putin's armored train is not a secret. In November 2019, the Kremlin posted a photo where Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was seen conducting a meeting in the train's boardroom.

Following the Kremlin's post, Komsomolskaya Pravda ran an article where they explained how the train was formed from scratch.

That being said, the last time Putin was photographed boarding the train was in 2012. The photo then featured the older version of the train, which has since been updated. The Kremlin press service has refrained from publishing any photographs showing the train's exterior.

The Dossier Center report comes as the war in Ukraine extends into its 12th month. Since February of last year, Russia has lost a total of 138,340 military personnel, including 560 soldiers killed over the past day, per estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.