Russian President Vladimir Putin is retreating into bunkers amid fears of assassination, according to sources cited by The Financial Times and Russian outlet IStories.
Putin and his family no longer visit their residences around the country, according to sources close to Putin and European intelligence services. Kremlin staff have been dissuaded from using public transport, face-to-face meetings have been reduced, and security checks have increased.
The disappearing act comes after a drone strike hit an upmarket apartment building around four miles from the Kremlin. The attack was five days before the annual Victory Day parade—which celebrates defeating the Nazis—was held in Moscow’s Red Square.
Paranoia about assassination attempts via drone attack has risen since March, according to a source close to European intelligence.
Meanwhile, another source close to Putin said that January’s abduction of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. spooked the Russian leader.
Putin’s involvement in the war in Ukraine is reported to have increased to the point of micromanagement, taking up more and more of his attention. In turn, that’s pulled him away from running the country and handling civilian matters, according to the FT report, which cites two people who speak to Putin.
“Putin spends 70 percent of his time running the war and the other 30 percent meeting [someone like] the president of Indonesia or dealing with the economy,” one source said.
Meanwhile, his family has stopped visiting their residences in Valdai and the Moscow region, although Putin is understood to have worked from a bunker in Krasnodar in the south of the country for weeks.
His location has become a hot topic this year, with Radio Free Europe publishing an investigation in March claiming that Putin was using three offices in three different places across the country, all of which look identical.
It comes as independent Russian outlet, IStories, published a report citing a European Union intelligence service report, which said that in March Putin became concerned about a potential coup plot.
The outlet reports that while Putin is away in the bunker, the government uses pre-recorded messages to maintain public communications.
It comes as the president’s popularity dips amid spiraling war costs, huge losses of men, and even internet blackouts.
The FT reports that people who work around Putin, from cooks to bodyguards and photographers, are not allowed to use electronic devices around him and are barred from using trains and buses to get to work, having to travel privately.
Those same staff have also reportedly had security measures installed at their homes.
Meanwhile, CNN, which has also reviewed the report, said visitors to the Kremlin are each screened twice on entry.
Top officials in Putin’s government have pointed the finger at one another over security failures, prompting Putin to demand that his Federal Protective Service also ensure the protection of 10 of his top generals.
Meanwhile, he has only made two public appearances this year. Last year, he made more than 17 trips and meetings.
