I'm John Bachelor, Bill Raggio, my colleague and co-host of the Foundation for

Defensive Democracies,

we're going to the Ukraine conflict, thanks to John Hardy of FDD,

who is our eyes and ears on the battlefield, but also what happens off the battlefield,

very much part of the geopolitical mix. I read from the Financial Times in these last hours. Putin's isolation has

increased in recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, but as of March,

2006, the Kremlin's concerns over a coup d'etat, or an assassination attempt, specifically involving

drones, has intensified sharply, said a person close to

European intelligence. In recent months, F.T. goes on to say Russia's Federal Protective Service,

the FSO, which guards top officials, has sharply tightened security around the president.

He spends more time in underground bunkers,

micromanaging the war, and has grown more detached from civilian affairs, according to

people who know Putin in Moscow and a person close to European intelligence services.

John, this looks to be a change in the weather. I did not know that he spent most of his

time in bunkers. Has something happened on the battlefield that he's sitting there staring at maps?

Good evening to you, John. Hey, John. Hey, Bill. Thanks for having me back on the show.

So at first, I should just say that this FT report, and there's an accompanying report

in eye stories, important stories, both very interesting.

Obviously, can't confirm what their anonymous sources are telling them.

I think that, you know, Putin, I think for years has been intensely focused on geopolitics and obviously the war in Ukraine and seems to have been kind of leaving the domestic stuff, kind of that stuff getting less and less of his attention.

So that certainly strikes me as plausible as to his fears of kind of assassination or a Ukrainian

operation targeting him.

...