Vladimir Putin fears an assassination attempt and a coup, tensions among security services are rising, an EU intelligence agency says

Important Stories has obtained a report by an intelligence service of a European Union country on the real situation in the Kremlin and the condition of Vladimir Putin. The document was provided to us by a source close to the agency that compiled the report. The editorial team is publishing the text of this report because:

• it is of significant public interest;
• some of the information it contains has been independently verified;
• the source who provided the document holds an official position in the government of a European country and risks their reputation and career if the document is a deliberate disinformation campaign;

Here is the text of the document.

«The Kremlin on High Alert

Since the beginning of March 2026, the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin have been concerned about a leak of sensitive information and, at the same time, about the risk of a plot or coup attempt against the Russian president. In particular, he fears the use of drones for a possible assassination attempt by members of the Russian political elite.

Strengthening Security Measures Around the Russian President

In response, the Federal Protective Service (FSO), whose primary mission is to ensure the physical protection of the highest officials of the Russian state, has significantly tightened security measures around Vladimir Putin:

• Visitors to the Presidential Administration undergo two levels of screening, including a full body search by FSO officers.
• The FSO has significantly reduced the list of locations regularly visited by the president; neither he nor his family visit their usual residences in the Moscow region and Valdai anymore.
• Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Putin has often taken refuge in renovated bunkers, particularly in the Krasnodar region, where he may work for weeks, while Russian media continue public communication using pre-recorded footage.
• No visits to military infrastructure have been organized this year, in contrast to frequent trips in 2025.
• Communication networks in certain districts of Moscow are periodically shut down.
• FSO officers conduct large-scale checks using canine units and are also deployed along the Moscow River, ready to respond to possible drone attacks.
• The FSO now controls and approves any informational or media publication involving the president, relying on a secret presidential decree (apparently referring to announcements of Putin’s trips and participation in various events — R.A.)
• Personnel working near Putin are now prohibited from using mobile phones; they must use devices without internet access.
• These employees are also banned from using public transportation and move exclusively using FSO transport; surveillance systems have been installed in the homes of cooks, photographers, and bodyguards.
• 
  

Sergei Shoigu Considered a Potential Destabilizing Actor

Sergei Shoigu, former Minister of Defense and Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation since May 2024, who retains significant influence within the military command, is associated with the risk of a coup attempt.

The arrest of his former first deputy, Ruslan Tsalikov, on March 5, 2026, is seen as a violation of informal guarantees of safety for elites, weakening Shoigu’s position and increasing the likelihood that he himself may face criminal prosecution.

Rising Tensions Among Security Structures

The issue of the physical security of senior Russian Armed Forces officers has led to increased tensions among representatives of Russia’s security agencies.

After the killing of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov in Moscow on December 22, 2025, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov proposed that Vladimir Putin convene a meeting of the permanent members of the Security Council to discuss the situation. However, Putin chose to hold a smaller meeting on December 25, 2025, the day after another attack on Russian security officials at the same location as the killing of Sarvarov.

During the meeting, representatives of the security agencies, the so-called “siloviki,” blamed one another for shortcomings in the security system revealed by Ukrainian attacks. Emphasizing that these attacks cause fear and disorganization within the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov sharply criticized his colleagues from the intelligence services for failing to anticipate them. The Chief of the General Staff also complained about a lack of personnel for the physical protection of officers in rear areas and drew the president’s attention to this issue.

The Director of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, in turn, defended himself by stressing the impossibility of systematically preventing such attacks. He criticized the Ministry of Defense for lacking a specialized unit responsible for the physical protection of top officials — similar to those in other security agencies.

The head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, in turn, noted that the resources at his disposal cannot be allocated to protect officers of the Ministry of Defense. He also addressed operational security recommendations to Gerasimov for Ministry of Defense officers, which provoked the Chief of the General Staff’s anger.

At the end of this tense meeting, Vladimir Putin called for calm, proposing to change the format of the discussion. He instructed participants to submit their proposals for resolving the issues discussed within a week.

Expansion of Security Measures for Ten Senior Russian Generals

After the meeting, Vladimir Putin met with Federal Protective Service Director Dmitry Kochnev, whose primary task is to ensure the physical security of top state officials. It was decided to amend the internal regulations of the FSO by expanding the list of individuals under its enhanced protection.

Previously, such protection applied only to Valery Gerasimov. Now it has been extended to ten senior generals, including three deputy chiefs of the General Staff. Vladimir Putin’s decision, made at the request of the General Staff, demonstrates the political weight of Valery Gerasimov, who succeeded in this “arbitration,” while other security agencies have so far failed to expand the FSO’s mandate in their interests.

List of generals placed under FSO protection:

• Colonel General Nikolai Bogdanovsky, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff;
• Colonel General Sergey Istrakov, Deputy Chief of the General Staff;
• Colonel General Alexey Kim, Deputy Chief of the General Staff;
• Colonel General Sergey Rudskoy, Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff;
• Colonel General Viktor Poznikhir, First Deputy Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff;
• Lieutenant General Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, Head of the National Defense Management Center (NDMC RF);
• Admiral Igor Kostyukov, Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU);
• Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky, Head of the Military Academy of the General Staff;
• Colonel General Alexander Chaiko;
• Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev».

What is independently confirmed

Some of the information in this report is confirmed by independent sources. For example, that the large-scale internet shutdowns in Moscow are carried out by the FSO rather than the FSB, as reported by some media outlets, had been told to Important Stories a month earlier by a former FSB officer. However, we did not publish this at the time because we could not find a second source to confirm it. Now the same claim appears in the European intelligence report.

Several sources of Important Stories also confirm the increased fear of Putin over a plot or coup attempt. This is evidenced not only by heightened security measures around the Kremlin and other locations visited by the Russian president, but also by some indirect signs.

For example, a current FSB officer told Important Stories that it has become much more difficult for his unit to obtain authorization for wiretapping in non-political criminal cases because “all equipment has been redirected to monitor the government and other state bodies.”

The extreme level of Putin’s fear of an assassination attempt or conspiracy is also indirectly indicated by the fact that this year not a single deputy of the State Duma received an invitation to the Victory Day parade on Red Square.

Why this report is one of the most important recent stories about Russia — read in a column by Important Stories founder Roman Anin.