The Kremlin has significantly increased security around Russian President Vladimir Putin amid fears of a coup and a wave of attacks on senior Russian military figures, according to a European intelligence report cited by CNN.
The report says chefs, bodyguards and photographers working with Putin have been banned from using public transport. Visitors to the Kremlin are reportedly screened twice, while staff working close to the president are allowed to use only phones without internet access. Surveillance systems have also been installed in the homes of senior figures linked to the Russian leadership.
Some of the measures were introduced in recent months following the killing of a senior Russian general in December, the report says.
Putin has also sharply reduced the number of locations he regularly visits. He and his family have reportedly stopped travelling to their usual residences in the Moscow region and in Valdai, his secluded retreat between Moscow and St Petersburg.
According to the report, Putin has not visited any military facility so far this year, despite making regular such trips in 2025. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has also spent weeks at a time in upgraded shelters, often in the Krasnodar region on the Black Sea.
Coup risk
The report says that, since early March 2026, the Kremlin and Putin himself have been concerned about possible leaks of sensitive information, as well as “the risk of a conspiracy or attempted coup” targeting the Russian president.
It adds that Putin is particularly wary of drones being used in a possible assassination attempt against members of Russia’s political elite.
One of the report’s most notable claims concerns Sergei Shoigu, the former defence minister and once one of Putin’s closest allies, who now serves as secretary of Russia’s Security Council.
Shoigu is described as being linked to coup risk because he retains significant influence within Russia’s senior military command. The report does not provide evidence to support this claim.
Putin faced an attempted mutiny in June 2023, when Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed march towards Moscow.
The report comes as the cost of the war in Ukraine continues to mount for Russia. Western estimates suggest Russian losses stand at around 30,000 killed and wounded each month, while Moscow has made only limited territorial gains and has faced repeated Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russian territory.
The new security measures were revealed days after Moscow announced significant changes to the May 9 Victory Day parade in Red Square. This year’s event, the fifth since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, will take place without heavy weaponry such as tanks and missiles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the threat from long-range Ukrainian attacks was one of the reasons for the changes.
“In view of this terrorist threat,” he said, “all measures are being taken to minimise the risk.”
Source: cnn.gr
