Due to the threat of Ukrainian strikes, the Valdai Club meeting was moved from Sochi to the Moscow region — FT
The annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club was moved from Sochi to the Moscow Region due to fears of attacks by the Ukrainian military.
According to the publication, the invitations to participants initially listed Sochi as the venue. However, at the end of August, they were notified of the change in location. Two sources speaking to the FT stated that the move was made at the insistence of the Federal Security Service.
As of mid-September, the event’s website states that the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club will take place from September 28 to October 1 in the Moscow Region. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Responsibility for the Future: The Limits of the Possible or Possibilities Without Limits?”
The FT believes that the relocation of the Valdai meeting is further evidence of the growing threat posed by Ukrainian missile strikes at a considerable distance from the border with Russia.
The publication also notes that Vladimir Putin has rarely visited Sochi of late, where one of his residences is located. According to journalists’ estimates, the Russian president has been there only twice in the past two years. He last visited Sochi in October 2025, when he attended the Valdai meeting. By comparison, in 2021, before the start of the full-scale war, Putin visited Sochi 24 times.
This was reported by the Financial Times.
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