Vladimir Putin Faces Being Ousted as He Loses Grip and Tries to 'Coup-Proof Army'

Vladimir Putin is being accused of trying to secure his regime by "coup-proofing" his military, fueling speculation about the Russian president losing control over his inner circle, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

In the past few months, several prominent Russian figures have been detained; Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Vadim Shamarin was reportedly arrested last week, and last month, Yuri Kuznetsov, head of personnel at Russia's Defense Ministry, was taken into custody on bribery charges.

The rumors of a purge by Putin ramped up after the arrest of Major General Ivan Popov, 49, a former commander of Russia's 58th Combined Arms Army in Ukraine. Popov — who was previously removed from his command for criticizing the "mass deaths and injuries" among Russian soldiers in the war — was recently detained on fraud charges.

Trent Telenko, a former U.S. Department of Defense official who has studied Russian military logistics, interpreted these arrests as evidence of a purge "picking up steam" within the Russian military, The Daily Star reported on Monday. He suggested the campaign aimed to eliminate capable and high-profile leaders, stating, "It won't stop until no one competent is left."

Shortly after Popov was arrested, Telenko wrote on X: "58th Army of the Southern Military District, Ivan Popov, was one of the few competent Russian flag ranks. His removal is about Putin 'Coup proofing' his military."

Ukrainian military blogger Igor Sushko has echoed these sentiments, noting rumors of unrest among Russian soldiers following Popov's detention. Sushko posted on X, "COUP RISK RISING IN RUSSIA," highlighting the Kremlin's decision to keep Popov in prison rather than granting him house arrest.

"The Kremlin regime reversed course and opted to keep the popular Maj Gen 'Spartak' Popov in prison," Sushko wrote, "House arrest denied. This is significant. Popov made various snarky comments while seeming relaxed."

Sushko also claimed that "whispers of a rebellion" had begun to surface "among the soldiers."

Another commentator, known by the X handle @generalsvr_en, also alleged that "General Staff are preparing to take action to overthrow the current government in #Russia."

"Allegedly, plans for a 'march on Moscow' similar to the rebellion of PMC Wagner under the leadership of Yevgeny Prigozhin have been developed," the account added. "The speakers assured that according to the conspirators' plan, several columns of military personnel with equipment were to move towards Moscow from several regions, and the implementation of these plans was scheduled for early June."

Despite these claims, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the allegations, telling reporters there was no coordinated campaign behind the arrests. He stated, "Of course, there is no talk of any campaigning here. It continues in all departments, be it either federal departments or at the municipal level," per Newsweek.