Paranoid Putin turns on his own ‘untouchable’ pals as Kremlin ‘descends into civil war’

The Kremlin elite is claimed to be in a state of disarray following a wave of high-profile arrests in Russia, with even those once viewed as ‘untouchable’ now watching their backs

Paranoid Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has unleashed a brutal wave of arrests against his own inner circle as the Kremlin devolves into a vicious “war of all against all”. In an update on the despot’s crumbling regime, former Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko claimed that even the tyrant’s most trusted, lifelong cronies are no longer safe.

Writing on X, Gerashchenko said: “The Kremlin is now like spiders in a jar. A war of all against all has started among the Kremlin elite, accompanied by unprecedented arrests of people who were close to Putin.”

For decades, Moscow’s ruling elite operated under the assumption that their loyalty granted them immunity.

But as Russia’s bloody war in Ukraine drags into its fifth year, Putin’s rising paranoia has triggered an unprecedented purge, reports the Express.

Gerashchenko added: “They used to believe they were ‘untouchable’ and that this status was guaranteed. Now everyone understands it is only a matter of time before they are targeted.” He also warned that the sudden crackdown “suggests that the system has begun to crack”.

Among the most shocking arrests is St Petersburg kingpin Ilya Traber, a powerful businessman acquainted with Putin since the 1990s.

Gerashchenko said: “He was long considered completely ‘untouchable.’ In June 2026, Traber was detained by the FSB and placed under arrest on suspicion of involvement in the contract killing of St. Petersburg lawmaker Alexander Petrov.”

Just weeks later in July 2026, FSB special forces pounced again. This time they snatched Konstantin Makhov, a former Rosaviatsiya official and top manager linked to billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, one of Putin’s closest childhood friends. Makhov “was detained in Moscow with the involvement of FSB special forces.”

Meanwhile, a staggering bloodbath has erupted at the heart of Russia’s defence ministry under the guise of an anti-corruption crackdown.

Gerashchenko said: “As part of a large-scale campaign under the pretext of fighting corruption and embezzlement, nearly the entire inner circle of former defence minister Shoigu has ended up either in pretrial detention or under house arrest.”

Former first deputy defence minister Ruslan Tsalikov was dragged into custody in March 2026 “in a case involving the embezzlement of billions of roubles.”

Meanwhile, former deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, who oversaw lavish military construction projects, “was sentenced to 13 years in prison for accepting an especially large bribe (more than 1.3 billion roubles ($16.6 million)) and transferring funds abroad.”

The ruthless purge also snared key military commanders, including Yury Kuznetsov, lieutenant general and head of the ministry’s main personnel directorate and Vadim Shamarin, head of the Russian armed forces’ main communications directorate.

Meanwhile, Ivan Popov, former commander of the 58th guards combined arms army, was dragged off “in a case involving the embezzlement of rolled metal intended for defensive structures.”

Local bosses across Russia are feeling the heat, too. Former Sochi mayor Aleksey Kopaygorodsky was locked up on corruption and land fraud charges, Ufa mayor Ratmir Mavliyev was hauled in over alleged real estate bribes.

Regional governors Aleksey Smirnov and Maksim Yegorov also saw their forced resignations quickly twist into full-blown criminal cases.

Summing up the chaotic power grab tearing Moscow apart, Gerashchenko added: “All of these prosecutions and arrests point to a redistribution of influence within the Kremlin, an intensifying struggle over resources and the fact that the principle of the elite being ‘untouchable’ no longer applies – even to Putin’s longtime friends.

“Putin is persecuting and eliminating his ‘old friends’ while becoming even more fearful for his own life. We’ll see how it ends.”