re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

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Security measures around Russian President Vladimir Putin have been significantly expanded amid rising fears of assassination or a coup attempt, as he grows more isolated and increasingly consumed by the war in Ukraine, according to a new report.

Russia's Federal Protective Service, which protects top officials, has tightened protocols in recent months, particularly over concerns about drone attacks, according to the Financial Times.

A person close to European intelligence services said the Kremlin's anxiety intensified sharply in March, driven in part by Ukraine-linked strikes deep inside Russian territory.


"The shock of Ukraine's drone Operation Spiderweb is still there," a person familiar with Putin said, referring to attacks last year on Russian airfields beyond the Arctic Circle.

Security concerns were also heightened by the United States' seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January, another person familiar with the situation said, reinforcing fears within the Kremlin about leadership vulnerability.

In response, Putin has curtailed travel and in-person meetings, while security screenings for visitors have been further tightened.

The president and his family have stopped visiting residences in the Moscow region and Valdai in northwestern Russia, instead spending extended periods in fortified bunkers, including in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia.

State media has relied on recorded footage to project normalcy, even as Putin works remotely for weeks at a time, according to the report.

Precautions now extend to Putin's inner circle. Staff, including cooks, photographers, and bodyguards, have been barred from using public transportation and from carrying mobile phones or internet-enabled devices near him. Surveillance systems have also been installed in their homes.

Broader security measures have been implemented across Moscow.


According to people familiar with the situation, recent internet shutdowns in the capital are partly tied to anti-drone defenses and efforts to protect the president. Federal Protective Service agents have conducted large-scale sweeps with dog units and have been stationed along the Moscow River to respond quickly to potential aerial threats.

The heightened alert extends beyond Putin. At a meeting late last year, Russian security officials reportedly blamed each other for failing to protect senior military personnel, including the killing of Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov in a series of Ukraine-linked attacks.

Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service, pointed to the defense ministry, which lacks a dedicated unit to protect top officials.

Viktor Zolotov, head of the National Guard and a former Putin bodyguard, rejected responsibility, citing limited resources.

Putin ultimately intervened, calling for calm and assigning the Federal Protective Service to oversee the security of 10 senior generals, including deputies to Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff.

The tightening of security has coincided with a marked shift in Putin's priorities. Once focused more broadly on geopolitics and domestic governance, he now devotes the majority of his time to overseeing the war effort.

"Putin spends 70% of his time running the war and the other 30 percent meeting [foreign leaders] or dealing with the economy," a person familiar with his schedule said, adding that access to the president increasingly depends on involvement in the war effort.

Putin holds daily meetings with military officials, focusing on operational details such as small Ukrainian settlements changing hands. Civilian officials, by contrast, are often granted audiences only once every few weeks or months.

Meanwhile, Putin has made only a handful of trips and appearances so far this year, compared with at least 17 in 2025, when he visited regions bordering Ukraine and military headquarters and appeared in uniform multiple times.

The president's detachment has fueled public frustration, with Russians increasingly voicing dissatisfaction over the prolonged war and mounting domestic pressures, including internet restrictions, tax burdens on small businesses, and agricultural disruptions.

Polling cited in the report indicates Putin's approval ratings have fallen to their lowest level since autumn 2022, when he announced a partial mobilization that prompted hundreds of thousands of Russians to leave the country.

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Putin tightens security NEWSMAX

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Who ever thought Putin would be hiding in bunkers ala Hitler?

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Ehhh, I've got to believe that Soigu is loyal. He's largely seen, at least outside of the Kremlin circles, as one of the least competent men in an organization filled to the brim with incompetent 'yes-men.' He's not particularly liked by the military (and that may be a huuuuge understatement), and he saw what happened when there was an uprising last time.

Here's a interesting take on it, and a different one at that:

No, Russia is not on the verge of a coup

First close up view of the damage from last night. Target is 1200km from Ukrainian border.

It has been confirmed by the Ukrainain military that it was hit with one of the new FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles. Which, from the looks of this video, could mean that they have resolved the terrain-following radar issues seen earlier last month. As we discussed earlier, if that's true the only thing that will keep Russian targets wired together will be restraints on Ukrainian production. Not good.

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New footage of the missile strike on VNIIR-Progress in Cheboksary. One version says the missile entered the structure and caused a fire, though damage to the protective net is not visible. Another version circulating online says the missile detonated in the air in front of the building after hitting an obstacle.

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He's full of shite. Pumping stations for crude oil are usually out in the open with manifolds, pumps and motors. ZERO tanks. I can understand in Siberia being in a building to protect from cold and snow, but that is it.

At pipeline terminals like Colonial north of Baton Rouge it takes feed from local refining an holds each batch in tanks waiting to feed similar batches coming from Texas because it is a products pipeline, actually two pipelines going all the way to near DC

I well understand death by a thousand cuts which is what Ukraine has been doing but he and the X accounts make each sound like it all but breaks Russia, usually with language to make the strikes sound worse than they are. The technical jargon used there is would not be recognized the average person in the US with some knowledge of the industry. While the strikes are impactful and disrupt operations, they are rarely if ever devastating except for the metering station at Brotherhood Natural Gas in Kursk just across the border. ALL of those above ground metering runs were destroyed.

Russia’s Second-Largest Oil Refinery Suspends Operations After Ukrainian Drone Strikes

May 05, 2026 19:07

On May 5, Russia’s second-largest oil refinery in Kirishi, Leningrad Region, suspended operations after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged three of its four crude distillation units, according to two industry sources cited by Reuters.

Satellite monitoring service NASA FIRMS detected active thermal anomalies at the site, pointing to possible fire damage in the aftermath of the strike.

Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko claimed that Russian air defenses had intercepted 18 drones over the area and said emergency services were working to contain the resulting fires.

Later, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed that the attck was carried out by its Alpha unit in coordination with Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces and Unmanned Systems Forces.

According to the SBU, the strikes hit three primary crude distillation units—key installations used in the initial stage of oil refining—triggering an ongoing fire. A separate strike also reportedly hit a storage tank containing petroleum products at an adjacent pumping station.

LINK

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What a travesty this has been

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You're right. Russia invading Ukraine has been a travesty. What a colossal frick up by Putin.

A million men are dead on both sides. A trillion dollars of damage has been done. Russia has lost its place in the modern world. Ukraine has lost a generation of men and 20% of their territory.

What is the upside? What did Russia gain for this?

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He's full of shite. Pumping stations for crude oil are usually out in the open with manifolds, pumps and motors. ZERO tanks

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Doubling down on a losing hand again?

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At pipeline terminals like Colonial north of Baton Rouge it takes feed from local refining an holds each batch in tanks waiting to feed similar batches coming from Texas because it is a products pipeline, actually two pipelines going all the way to near DC

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The Colonial goes all the way to NY. You're thinking of the Plantation Pipeline that terminates in Northern Virginia. I had a friend that graduated from Curtis HS and got a job at Shell Norco as a security guard. Ten years later he was in Houston trading paper on Platts every day. Quite the career projection.

Someone dropped a dime.

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Interesting but let's wait until TACO gets the phone call from Putin before we get excited.

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