Putin forging 'new elite' from 'special military operation' members — Ukrainian intelligence

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) reported the information.

"After the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Putin is actively forming a 'new elite' from among the participants of the special military operation, gradually marginalizing the old business elite. Repressions, arrests, and nationalization are becoming instruments of a political game in which oligarchs are losing influence and property," the report states.

The FIS cites the example of a conflict between billionaire and owner of the company Severstal Alexei Mordashov and the governor of the Vologda region, Georgy Filimonov. After the entry into force of the permit for the use of migrants in construction, Filimonov accused Mordashov of unpatriotic behavior and reducing investments.

Then the governor initiated a purge of local authorities, as a result of which several high-ranking officials associated with Severstal were removed from their posts.

"Pressure on business was not limited to Vologda. In 2025, the founder of the agricultural holding Rusagro Vadim Moshkovich, the CEO of Blago Invest Dmitry Fosman were detained, and a trial was initiated regarding the nationalization of the Domodedovo airport, which belongs to Dmitry Kamenshchik," the intelligence agency adds.

• Oleh Ivashchenko, the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, believes that the overall potential for the emergence of a protest movement in Russia exists, but it is small.