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Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly withdrawn from public view and is reportedly spending extended periods operating from secure bunker locations, according to a report citing Western intelligence sources, amid growing concern over internal threats and potential instability within the Kremlin, the Daily Express reports.

According to the report, security protocols around Putin have been significantly intensified, with the Russian leader said to have abandoned his usual residences out of concern they could be targeted, including by elements within Russia’s own political elite. The findings were published by the independent outlet Important Stories and are based on intelligence assessments from an unidentified Western agency.

“Since the beginning of March 2026, the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin have been concerned about a leak of sensitive information and, at the same time, about the risk of a plot or coup attempt against the Russian president,” the outlet reports. “In particular, he fears the use of drones for a possible assassination attempt by members of the Russian political elite.”

The report also points to rising suspicion surrounding senior figures, including Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, who is described as being “associated with the risk of a coup attempt”. Tensions reportedly escalated following the arrest last month of his former deputy, Ruslan Tsalikov, who is suspected of amassing nearly $68 million in family assets through corruption.

Shoigu’s name first surfaced in connection with alleged coup concerns in recent weeks, according to the same intelligence assessment.

Security enforcement by the Federal Protective Service has been sharply increased, with tighter controls placed on access to government facilities and the president himself.

“The FSO has significantly tightened security measures” around Putin, according to the report. “Visitors to the Presidential Administration undergo two levels of screening, including a full body search by FSO officers,” the report revealed.

Authorities have also restricted Putin’s movements, limiting the locations he visits and reportedly ending trips to familiar residences such as Novo-Ogaryovo and Valdai.

“The FSO has significantly reduced the list of locations regularly visited by the president; neither he nor his family visit their usual residences in the Moscow region [Novo-Ogaryovo] and Valdai anymore,” it states.

The report claims that since the start of the war in Ukraine, Putin has frequently relied on fortified underground facilities, particularly in southern Russia, where he is said to remain for extended periods while official communications continue through pre-recorded appearances.

“since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Putin has often taken refuge in renovated bunkers, particularly in the Krasnodar region, where he may work for weeks, while Russian media continue public communication using pre-recorded footage.”

The Krasnodar region, which has been targeted in Ukrainian drone strikes, is also home to Putin’s large Gelendzhik residence, a multi-level complex built into a cliffside.

Additional security precautions reportedly include periodic shutdowns of mobile internet across Moscow and expanded surveillance measures.

“FSO officers conduct large-scale checks using canine units and are also deployed along the Moscow River, ready to respond to possible drone attacks,” it states.

Media access has also been tightened, with security officials reportedly reviewing all public messaging about the president following what is described as a classified directive.

According to the report, individuals working closely with Putin face strict limitations, including bans on using internet-enabled mobile devices and restrictions on travel, relying instead on secure transportation arranged by state security services.

Heightened security measures have also been extended to senior military leadership following the assassination of Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov in a car bombing in Moscow late last year, an attack believed at the time to be linked to Ukraine.

The killing reportedly triggered internal tensions among top officials, leading to a contentious meeting in which senior figures accused one another of failing to prevent the breach.

The report states the meeting concluded with Putin calling for calm while directing officials to submit proposals to address the situation.

Additional protections were subsequently ordered for high-ranking generals, amid concerns over further attacks.

The report also suggests that growing security fears may be reflected in recent political signals, including the absence of State Duma deputies from invitations to the Victory Day parade on Red Square.

Roman Amin, founder of Important Stories, described the broader context behind the developments, warning of deepening internal strain within Russia’s leadership.

“The stalemate in the war in Ukraine, the painful Ukrainian drone strikes on oil infrastructure, and economic and social problems…were bound to eventually lead to a war between Russian power clans for the throne of the weakening dictator.”

Putin, he added, “who built this system of power himself, understands well what awaits him-hence the increased paranoia, the unprecedented isolation from the people and his own entourage.”

{Matzav.com}

Jonathan Pollard, who previously served 30 years in a U.S. prison, announced that he is entering Israeli politics and intends to run in the upcoming elections.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 News, Pollard said he made the decision after a lengthy period of deliberation, explaining that the events of October 7 served as a turning point for him.

According to Pollard, the terror attack and the national upheaval that followed led him to conclude that he must take an active role in public affairs. He said he will run together with Nissim Lok, the father of Shani Lok Hy”d, who was murdered in the Simchas Torah massacre.

Pollard also expressed strong views regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, stating that he supports “full transfer” of the Gaza population. He argued that Israel is not winning the war and said a new leadership is needed to implement a more decisive and clearly defined policy.

Addressing Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, Pollard said he would accept any democratic outcome but stressed that the performance of the leadership since October 7 must be carefully examined. He added that while he is open to working with some political figures, he voiced strong reservations about Naftali Bennett.

Pollard said that Bennett is “right” in his criticism of Netanyahu, but maintained that Bennett’s past role in security decisions prevents him from being a partner going forward.

{Matzav.com}

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Emergency responders treated and evacuated 23 participants from the hilulah of Rashbi in Meron. In a separate incident, a 15-year-old bochur was moderately injured after being burned in a medurah in Arad.

The simchas Lag BaOmer continued without any major incidents, despite the heightened security restrictions in place this year.

Emergency teams stationed at the various hadlakos in Meron and Yerushalayim reported only a limited number of injuries, the overwhelming majority of them minor, including fainting and light trauma.

According to official figures, as mentioned, Magen David Adom teams on site in Meron provided treatment and transported 23 individuals to hospitals. Among them was a man in his 50s in moderate condition with a head injury, while the remaining 22 were listed in light condition, suffering from weakness, fainting, or minor injuries. Additional MDA teams treated another 39 participants at the scene who did not require hospital transport.

In Yerushalayim, at the central hadlakah led by the mashpia Rav Elimelech Biderman on Rechov Shefa Chaim, Hatzalah reported that approximately 20 participants received assistance at a medical station set up on site.

Leizer Heiman, deputy CEO and head of volunteers and operations at Hatzalah, said, “With chasdei Hashem, the security operation concluded just moments ago without any unusual incidents. I would like to thank the Deputy Mayor of Yerushalayim Yitzchak Meir Brim and the entire dedicated Activer team for their cooperation for the benefit of the public.”

Gilad Solomon, deputy CEO and head of operations, added, “After many days of preparation and extensive readiness for the security operation, it can be concluded that aside from a number of minor injury cases, the event passed without unusual incidents.”

In addition to the events in Meron and Yerushalayim, a more serious incident occurred in Arad, where MDA paramedics treated and evacuated a 15-year-old bochur to Soroka Medical Center in moderate condition after he sustained second-degree burns over approximately 18% of his body from a medurah of Lag BaOmer.

This year, due to the complex matzav and the strict restrictions imposed by the security forces and Pikud HaOref, the usual masses were not able to ascend to the tziyun of Rashbi in Meron as in past years. According to the approved misgeres, three official hadlakos were held to preserve the mesorah — the central hadlakah of the Boyaner Rebbe in Meron, the hadlakah of Edot HaMizrach led by Rav Shlomo Amar, and the hadlakah of the dati leumi tzibbur led by Rav Shmuel Eliyahu.

At the same time, major maamadim of hadlakah took place in Yerushalayim.

{Matzav.com}

Barack Obama said in a recent interview that he has deliberately limited how often he publicly criticizes President Donald Trump, explaining that speaking out too frequently would lessen the weight of his words.

“For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening — which, by the way, I’m glad Jon’s doing it — then I’m not a political leader, I’m a commentator,” Obama told the New Yorker for a wide-ranging profile.

Since leaving office in January 2017, Obama has periodically taken aim at Trump and his administration, though he has done so sparingly.

Earlier this year, he sharply criticized federal immigration enforcement after an incident in Minneapolis in which officers fatally shot two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and also weighed in on Republican-led redistricting efforts across the country.

“The rogue behavior of agents of the federal government is deeply concerning and dangerous,” he told liberal commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, referring to the actions of immigration officers.

He also voiced opposition to the way congressional maps are being drawn, arguing that the process should not be controlled by elected officials.

“Redistricting is another good example of where I strongly believe we should not be having politicians draw lines that determine who’s voting for them,” he later said.

The issue has become a central political fight ahead of the midterm elections, with Republicans in Texas having redrawn congressional districts last year at Trump’s urging, while Democratic-led states such as California and Virginia have taken steps to counter those changes in an ongoing redistricting battle.

Obama also backed a ballot initiative in Virginia that enables Democrats to redraw congressional districts in the state.

Reflecting on his public role, Obama suggested that many of his efforts go unnoticed due to the current media climate, and that when he does speak out, it prompts questions about why he does not do so more often.

“The media environment is so difficult that people don’t even know all the stuff I am doing, right?” Obama told the New Yorker. “And, I think, when they do see me, then the sense is, ‘Well, why isn’t he doing that every day instead of just during a midterm election, or during a referendum campaign around gerrymandering, or what have you?’”

When Obama left office, his approval rating stood at 59 percent, according to the American Presidency Project, placing him among the most popular departing presidents since Harry Truman and trailing only Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.

A Gallup survey conducted in January 2025 found Obama’s approval rating remained at 59 percent, the highest among the five living current or former presidents at the time, while Trump’s stood at 48 percent shortly after beginning his second term.

More recent polling shows a decline in the sitting president’s approval rating, with an average of surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ putting it at 39.7 percent as of Friday.

{Matzav.com}

The Supreme Court on Monday moved swiftly to implement its decision striking down Louisiana’s congressional map, accelerating the timeline for returning the case to a lower court and setting off a pointed dispute between Justices Samuel Alito and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

By issuing the order immediately, the justices bypassed the typical 32-day waiting period before formally sending the case back, allowing the lower court to proceed without delay.

The move came amid concerns raised by some parties that the lower court may have acted prematurely in positioning Louisiana Republicans to quickly redraw the map ahead of this year’s elections, given that the case technically remained before the high court at the time.

With the case now officially returned, the ruling effectively opens the door for Louisiana to redraw one of its two majority-Black congressional districts, a change that could create an opportunity for House Republicans to gain a seat before November.

In a dissenting opinion, Jackson criticized the majority’s handling of the case, arguing that it had abandoned standard procedural limits. She wrote that the majority “unshackles itself” from “constraints,” insisting that the court should adhere to its usual practices.

Her criticism drew a strong response from Alito, who was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch. The three justices pushed back forcefully, describing a portion of Jackson’s dissent as “baseless and insulting.”

“The dissent in this suit levels charges that cannot go unanswered,” Alito wrote. “The dissent would require that the 2026 congressional elections in Louisiana be held under a map that has been held to be unconstitutional.”

No additional justices publicly revealed how they voted on the order.

The dispute follows last week’s 6-3 ruling in which the court found Louisiana’s addition of a second majority-Black district unconstitutional, a decision that weakened a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The timing of the ruling created complications for election officials, as it coincided with the distribution of overseas ballots and preparations for early voting in the state’s primary elections.

Despite the urgency, the court did not clarify whether Louisiana must redraw its congressional map before the upcoming midterms, even though prior rulings have cautioned against making changes too close to an election.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry postponed the state’s primary election to give lawmakers time to draft a new map, a step the lower court indicated would be permitted.

Still, the case had remained with the Supreme Court under its standard 32-day window following a decision, prompting disputes among the involved parties over whether to expedite its return.

Voters who challenged the map — identifying themselves as “non-African American” — urged the justices to skip the waiting period so Louisiana could move forward immediately with redistricting.

At the same time, the court has historically been cautious about endorsing election changes close to voting dates, even as Louisiana’s congressional primaries have now been delayed from their original May 16 schedule.

Black voters who had successfully pushed for the creation of the second majority-Black district argued that the Supreme Court should retain the case until after the election. Louisiana officials themselves did not take a position, asserting they already had the authority to eliminate the invalidated district.

“The Court’s decision in these cases has spawned chaos in the State of Louisiana,” Jackson wrote in her dissent, adding later “The question whether our decision should affect the map to be used in the ongoing primaries raises a host of legal and political questions that are entirely independent of the issue in Callais.”

The ruling comes as part of a broader national struggle over redistricting, with both Republican- and Democratic-led states working to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the midterm elections in a bid to influence control of the House.

Control of the House is widely viewed as a key battleground, with Democrats aiming to regain a majority in November, a shift that could complicate the final two years of President Trump’s term. Party leaders have also signaled potential investigations into the administration should they take control.

Republicans, encouraged by the White House and allied groups, have already begun redrawing maps in Texas and are expanding those efforts to states such as Missouri, North Carolina, and Florida. Democrats, in turn, have moved to counter those changes in states like California and Virginia.

Legal challenges over multiple congressional maps remain ongoing across the country.

During a rare rehearing of the Louisiana case in October, the justices appeared poised to place new limits on the role of race in redistricting, though uncertainty lingered about when a final decision would be issued and whether it would come too late to impact the midterm cycle.

Following last week’s ruling, which appears to favor Republicans by allowing map changes ahead of the elections, other states are now preparing to take similar steps.

Alabama has asked the Supreme Court to release its pending case involving a second majority-Black district, which the justices had held while considering the Louisiana matter. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Alabama’s second district was created following a separate Supreme Court decision in 2024.

Tennessee has also signaled plans to revisit and potentially redraw its congressional districts before the midterms.

{Matzav.com}