
Oligarchs living in fear as Putin purges take bloody toll
It has long been a cut-throat world for the Russian elite, but the recent spate of blood-letting – both literal and figurative – has shocked serving and former government officials, who spoke with The Telegraph anonymously amid fear of reprisals.
People who might once have been seen as untouchable, either through their political connections or loyalty to Vladimir Putin, have found themselves out of favour, out of office and, on occasion, falling out of windows.
The war in Ukraine has upended the status quo, with the Kremlin nationalising businesses to plug its coffers while corporate 'raiders' compete ever more violently for a shrinking piece of the pie.
'It all looks horrifying,' said a former official from the Russian presidential administration. 'If you look at the recent arrest of top state company executives, the mysterious deaths, people in government and politics are, pardon my French, s----ing themselves.'
In July alone, Andrei Badalov, the vice-president of state-owned pipeline company Transneft, fell to his death from a balcony at his home. A former deputy defence minister was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on charges of corruption, only for a fellow military official to go down for 17.
Meanwhile, state security drove the nationalisation of the country's largest airport, taking it from the hands of owners with dual citizenship, while the Bombardier jet of billionaire gold tycoon Konstantin Strukov was boarded to prevent him from fleeing the country.

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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Italy to tell EU terms for UniCredit's BPM bid remain despite deal collapse
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Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Watch as paranoid Putin is escorted by anti-drone rocket launcher on walkabout after fearful despot cancelled ‘Navy Day'
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The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Watch as paranoid Putin is escorted by anti-drone rocket launcher on walkabout after fearful despot cancelled ‘Navy Day'
PARANOID Vladimir Putin has been captured on video getting escorted by an anti-drone rocket launcher on a walkabout after the fearful despot cancelled "Navy Day". Unbelievable footage shows a security service operator threateningly holding the drone interceptor in position as the dictator freely strolls around. 10 10 10 The agent appears to be holding a 'fire and forget' Yolka - used to down incoming explosive unmanned planes. A video appears to show the suited secret serviceman clutching the ready-to-use kinetic interceptor that's shielded slightly by a bag. Dictator Putin is meanwhile glad-handing military personnel in the famous Red Square, Moscow, reportedly on Victory Day two months ago. Another agent is even seen carrying Putin's suspected nuclear briefcase - used to launch an atomic strike on enemies. The bizarre security measure has exposed Putin's paranoia as Ukraine continue to bravely fight back against Russian blitzes. Separate footage shows how the hand-released Yolka - a compact, quadcopter-style drone - is used to destroy military drones. The video comes after mad Vlad cancelled the annual Russian naval parade on Sunday last-minute as he feared Ukrainian drone strikes. Instead, more modest events were staged with Putin's involvement. The Kremlin defended the decision had been taken for 'security reasons' amidst the bloody war with Ukraine. Ukraine has managed to destroy over a third of Russia's combat fleets in the Black Sea since Putin's invasion in 2022 as well as eliminating over a million soldiers. Russia's event is often touted as an opportunity for Putin to show off his military might through a warship parades. The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation first announced the cancellation online as they said: "The Kremlin can no longer pretend that the war doesn't affect Russia's home front. "The war impacts all areas of life in Russia, even symbolic and high-profile events like the navy parade. "Today, Russian warships cannot feel safe even on their own territory. "Against this backdrop, the news that Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will be decommissioned and scrapped is especially telling." Work on the hulking aircraft carrier was suspended earlier this month with reports suggesting the vessel is doomed for the scrapheap. Ukraine has systematically laid waste to Putin's naval forces since 2022 in kamikaze drone and missile attacks. In 2024, Putin's newest and only remaining missile cruiser in the Black Sea was destroyed by Ukraine forces. 10 10 The 'Zyklon' was taken out alongside the 266-M minesweeper, Kovrovets, in a devastating ATACMS missiles strike. Its sinking was part of Ukraine's ongoing campaign targeting the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Last April, Ukraine's Navy said it had struck the salvage ship Kommuna - the oldest ship still serving in the Russian Navy. Ukraine's top brass say they have decimated 34 per cent of the Black Sea Fleet's 184 warships had been disabled. Trump slashes 50-day peace deadline DONALD Trump slashed the 50-day deadline for Vladimir Putin to cut a peace deal down to just the end of next week. Trump slammed the tyrant - who has not taken Trump's peace efforts seriously - saying he was "very disappointed" with him during a press conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland yesterday. The US President said Putin's new deadline had been reduced down to "10 to 12" days from Monday, which would be August 6 to 8. He said: "I'm disappointed in President Putin, very disappointed in him. "So we're going to have to look and I'm going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number." He later clarified saying: "I'm going to make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today. There's no reason in waiting, we just don't see any progress being made." Trump said that the US would do secondary sanctions on Russia - slapping sanctions on those who buy oil from Moscow. But that could all be avoided if Putin cuts a peace deal - which Trump thinks could still happen. 10 10