Vladimir Putin appears to be spiralling further into paranoia over a potential coup as he has arrested a close ally who helped make him president.
Reports from Moscow claim the leader's former aide Vladislav Surkov is being held under house arrest as part of a massive criminal probe which has also arrested around 150 Russian security agents.
The probe is investigating the alleged £4billion embezzlement by security services to try and create a network of undercover intelligence officers in Ukraine.
