A leaked report by European intelligence agencies highlights Russian President Vladimir Putin’s growing concern for his personal safety and that of his top aides.
On May 4, Western and Russian opposition sources reported, citing an intelligence report, that Russian security forces have stepped up security measures as Putin fears possible assassination attempts, including targeted drone strikes.
This is according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The intelligence report notes that Putin spends most of his time in underground bunkers in the Krasnodar Territory and has stopped visiting residences in Moscow region and Valdai, Novgorod region.
The intelligence report also cited sources in Russia close to Putin who said that recent internet outages in Moscow were at least partly related to Putin's security and anti-drone protection.
The intelligence report states that Putin changed the rules of the Federal Security Service (FSO) to provide security for 10 high-ranking generals after a meeting of security officials in December 2025, at which officials blamed each other for the December 22 assassination of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the "Operational Training" department. of the Russian General Staff, in Moscow.
ISW has observed corroborating evidence of heightened security measures for Putin and senior Russian officials.
Throughout the war, there have been numerous assassinations and assassination attempts against senior Russian officials, some of which have been attributed to Ukraine, likely causing Putin to be concerned for his safety and that of other senior officials.
ISW has also observed reports between May 2023 and December 2025 of the Russian authorities relocating an increased number of short- and medium-range air defense systems, including the "Pantsir-S1" and "S-400" near Putin's residences in Valdai and Moscow.
Ukraine has also increased the scope, intensity, and frequency of its long-range drone strike campaign, including a drone strike on Moscow on May 4 that damaged the "Mosfilm" tower.
ISW has found no independent evidence to support other aspects of the leaked intelligence report about Putin's concerns about a coup attempt in Russia.
The European intelligence report describes former Russian Defense Minister and current Secretary of Russia's Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, as "associated with the risk of a coup."
CNN, which obtained the intelligence report, noted that it contained no evidence to support these claims.
The Russian Defense Ministry (MOD) has appointed Colonel General Alexander Chaiko as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) following recent domestic criticism of Russia's air defenses and failures of air operations.
Chaiko served as Chief of Staff of the Russian military group in Syria from 2015 to 2017 and was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian military group in Syria from September 2019 to November 2020, from February to June 2021, and from September to December 2022.
Chaiko was one of the commanders responsible for Russian strikes against Syrian civilians and critical infrastructure during the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015.
Chaiko also commanded Russian forces responsible for large-scale violence against civilians in the Kiev region, including in Bucha.
In December 2024, during the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the Russian Ministry of Defense reappointed Chaiko as commander of the Russian military group in Syria.
Chaiko was the first military district commander to be removed from his post by Putin at the start of the large-scale invasion, and his latest appointment is in line with Putin's practice of replacing commanders with unsatisfactory results rather than dismissing them outright.
Russian forces first penetrated the outskirts of Kostyantynivka in late October 2025, but have yet to make significant operational progress in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a unilateral ceasefire on the night of 5–6 May in response to Russian rhetoric regarding a ceasefire on 9 May, "Day of victory", calling on Russian forces to retaliate in kind.
Swedish authorities seized a Russian oil tanker from the "shadow fleet" on May 3.
Neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces have recorded any confirmed successes on the front.