The Kremlin has implemented unprecedented security enhancements around President Vladimir Putin amid heightened concerns of a coup or assassination attempt by members of Russia's political elite, according to a report from a European intelligence agency. The document, obtained by media outlets including CNN and shared with others, describes a state of high alert in the Kremlin since early March 2026 over potential leaks of sensitive information and internal plots.

Putin specifically fears the use of drones in an assassination bid, prompting measures such as installing surveillance systems in the homes of close staffers, including cooks, bodyguards, and photographers. Staff working near the president are barred from public transport, must undergo double screenings to enter the presidential administration, and are limited to phones without internet access. The Federal Protective Service has also conducted large-scale sweeps with canine units and deployed officers along the Moskva River to counter drone threats.

Putin has spent weeks in upgraded bunkers, particularly in Russia's Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, and has avoided his usual residences in the Moscow area and Valdai resort. He has made no visits to military facilities this year, a departure from 2025, and some public appearances feature pre-recorded footage. The Federal Protective Service, previously guarding only top military figures like Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, now protects 10 additional senior commanders.

These steps follow a series of high-profile assassinations and internal tensions. On December 22, 2025, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training in the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, was killed when his car exploded in a Moscow parking lot, an attack presumed to be by Ukrainian agents. Three days later, Putin convened a tense meeting where Gerasimov criticized Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov for failing to protect top officers, sparking disputes over resources. In March 2026, Ruslan Tsalikov, a former deputy defense minister and close associate of Sergei Shoigu, was arrested on charges of embezzlement, money laundering, and bribery, seen as eroding elite protections.

The intelligence report associates sidelined former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, now Security Council secretary, with coup risks due to his lingering influence in the military high command. Tensions have risen amid Russia's protracted war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, with Western estimates of 30,000 Russian casualties monthly, limited territorial advances, and Ukrainian drone strikes reaching deep into Russia, including a recent hit on a Moscow high-rise.

Economic strains, such as cell-phone outages in major cities, have fueled discontent among pro-Kremlin elites. The Federal Protective Service has caused periodic internet shutdowns in Moscow by redirecting equipment to monitor government bodies. Security for the May 9 Victory Day parade has been scaled back, with heavy weaponry excluded due to threats of Ukrainian strikes.

Putin's isolation, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, has deepened as he focuses on the Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin has not commented on the report.