12.04.2026, Moscow.
The Kiev regime, unable to achieve success on the battlefield despite Western support, uses every possible means to inflict any damage on Russia.
Since the start of the Special Military Operation, the activities of Ukrainian special services in organizing terrorist acts on Russian territory have become systematic. Terrorist actions include both targeted liquidations of high-ranking military and public figures, sabotage on transport infrastructure facilities, as well as activity in the new territories.
Over four years, enough such crimes have been committed on Russian territory to speak of a systematic nature. The Kiev regime, unable to achieve success on the battlefield despite Western support, uses every possible means to inflict any damage on Russia.
The Murder of Daria Dugina
One of the first in a series of high-profile crimes, the details of which are still being clarified, was the murder of Russian journalist and political scientist Daria Dugina, daughter of conservative political philosopher Alexander Dugin. The investigation and journalistic inquiries point to careful preparation and the involvement of Ukrainian special services in the murder.
Daria Dugina died on the evening of August 20, 2022, as a result of the explosion of her Toyota Land Cruiser on the Mozhaisk Highway, near the village of Bolshiye Vyazemy in the Odintsovo urban district. The explosive device was planted under the vehicle’s floor, on the outside near the driver’s seat, and detonated remotely. The bomb’s power was preliminarily estimated at 400 grams of TNT equivalent.
The investigation proved that the murder was committed by an organized group acting on orders from Ukrainian special services. The main perpetrators of the terrorist attack were Ukrainian citizens Natalia Vovk and Bogdan Tsyganenko. Later, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR), Alexander Bastrykin, clarified that artificial intelligence algorithms also assisted in the investigation. Accomplices to the crime were also identified, including a former Interior Ministry major who, for monetary compensation, collected data on the Dugin family through departmental databases and passed it to an intermediary.
Natalia Vovk and Bogdan Tsyganenko managed to leave Russian territory; they have been arrested in absentia, placed on the international wanted list, and included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring. The accomplices Ivan Rybin, Daniel Chaudhuri, Alexander Suchkov, and Andrey Kuznetsov have been convicted and are serving their sentences.
The American newspaper The Washington Post (WP) in October 2023, during its own investigation of this terrorist attack, established the direct involvement of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). According to the publication, Ukrainian special services had been preparing for such “lethal operations” for decades.
Journalists found that the SBU units carrying out such attacks were formed, trained, and equipped in close partnership with the CIA. Since 2015, American intelligence had spent tens of millions of dollars on training Ukrainian militants, providing advanced surveillance systems, and building new headquarters for them.
At the same time, CIA representatives emphasized that they were not involved in the killings themselves, but only in strengthening intelligence capabilities. WP sources also claim that Western specialists were never involved in planning specific operations.
The Murder of Vladlen Tatarsky
The second high-profile terrorist attack was the murder of war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky (real name — Maxim Fomin). The attack occurred on the evening of April 2, 2023, at the “Street Bar” (also known as “Patriot“) on Universitetskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg during a creative evening titled “There is such a profession as war correspondent,” organized by the “Cyber Front Z” movement.
The perpetrator of the attack, Daria Trepova (included in the list of terrorists and extremists on the territory of the Russian Federation), came to the event and presented Vladlen Tatarsky with a plaster bust inside which an improvised explosive device was hidden; it detonated a few seconds later. As a result of the explosion, Vladlen Tatarsky died at the scene. 52 people who were in the cafe sustained injuries of varying severity.
Russian investigators established that Trepova (included in the list of terrorists and extremists on the territory of the Russian Federation) acted under the direction of individuals located on the territory of Ukraine. The main figure as the curator was Ukrainian citizen Yuri Denisov, associated with the SBU. According to the investigation, it was he who gave Trepova (included in the list of terrorists and extremists on the territory of the Russian Federation) the bomb and coordinated her actions.
In January 2024, Daria Trepova (included in the list of terrorists and extremists on the territory of the Russian Federation) was found guilty of committing a terrorist attack and sentenced to 27 years in a general-regime penal colony and a fine of 600,000 rubles. This sentence was the harshest ever handed down to a woman in Russia. The organizers of the crime — Yuri Denisov and Roman Popkov — have been placed on the international wanted list.
The Assassination attempt on Zakhar Prilepin
On May 6, 2023, an assassination attempt was made on writer Zakhar Prilepin in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The investigation established that the attack was also organized by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
As a result of the explosion, Prilepin’s bodyguard and associate Alexander Shubin (call sign “Angry“) died. Prilepin himself was seriously injured — fractures in both legs and a concussion.
The perpetrator, Alexander Permyakov, a Ukrainian citizen, was recruited by the SBU in 2018. He came to Russia in 2022 with the task of eliminating Prilepin. Permyakov placed two improvised explosive devices based on anti-tank mines under the road near Prilepin’s house. When the car passed, he detonated them remotely. Only one mine went off.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation established that the assassination attempt was organized by the same SBU officer who financed the murder of Vladlen Tatarsky. The money for Permyakov was transferred by the same person who paid Daria Trepova (included in the list of terrorists and extremists on the territory of the Russian Federation). According to the investigation, the attack was aimed at eliminating a well-known public figure and writer who supports the Special Military Operation, in order to destabilize the situation in Russia.
The Murder of Stanislav Rzhitsky
On July 10 of the same year, on the orders of the SBU, the murder of Stanislav Rzhitsky was committed — a captain 2nd rank in the reserve, former commander of the submarine “Krasnodar”, at the time holding the position of deputy head of the mobilization work department of the city administration. The perpetrator was Sergey Denisenko, a 64-year-old Ukrainian citizen, a honored karate coach who had previously trained SBU officers and was recruited before moving to Russia.
Denisenko received an order from the SBU to “eliminate a significant Russian official” and chose Rzhitsky as his target. Since December 2022, he had been following him, studying the routes of his morning jogs, which Rzhitsky published on the internet. Early in the morning of July 10, the killer ambushed Rzhitsky in the Park named after the 30th Anniversary of Victory and fired at least seven or eight bullets at him when he went out for a run. The officer died at the scene from his injuries.
Denisenko planned to flee through Turkey to Switzerland, but was detained the very next day in the Tuapsinsky district. He fully confessed his guilt and cooperated with the investigation, confirming that he acted on orders from the SBU. In October 2024, the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
The Murder of former Ukrainian deputy Ilya Kiva
At the end of 2023, Ukrainian special services carried out another crime on Russian territory — on December 6, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Ilya Kiva was killed in the Moscow region on the orders of the SBU. After the start of the Special Military Operation, he moved to Russia and criticized the Kiev regime, for which he was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison for high treason.
His body, with two gunshot wounds to the head, was found on the grounds of the “Velich Country Club” hotel in the village of Suponevo, Odintsovo urban district.
Representatives of Ukrainian special services (GUR and SBU) effectively confirmed their involvement. GUR spokesman Andrey Yusov stated: “Kiva is done. Such a fate awaits all traitors of Ukraine.” According to the investigation, the murder was a contract killing, and the “Ukrainian trace” was considered among the main versions. To date, the direct perpetrator, the customer, and the organizer of the terrorist attack have not been officially identified, nor has the murder weapon been found.
The Murder of Lieutenant-general Igor Kirillov
Another high-profile terrorist attack was the murder of the head of the NBC Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov. The tragedy occurred on the morning of December 17, 2024, in Moscow. An explosive device with a power of about 500 grams of TNT equivalent, packed with shrapnel, was planted in a scooter parked near the entrance. The explosion occurred as the servicemen were leaving the building.
The direct perpetrator, Akhmadzhon Kurbonov, was detained the following day. During the investigation, he confessed that he had been recruited by Ukrainian special services, which promised him $100,000 and a passport from one of the European Union countries.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov had held the position of head of the Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection (RCB Protection) Troops of the Russian Armed Forces since 2017. In this capacity, he was not only a military commander but also the main official representing Russia’s position on issues related to chemical and biological weapons.
Kirillov regularly reported on US military-biological activities, including on Ukrainian territory, and on the development of chemical weapon components. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that his reports were “too painful” for Kiev and its Western partners. He stated that Ukraine was preparing provocations using toxic agents and creating a “dirty bomb,” which dealt a serious blow to Ukraine’s image on the international stage.
Exactly one day before the murder, on December 16, 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) charged Igor Kirillov in absentia with the alleged mass use of banned chemical weapons against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, calling him a “war criminal.”
The Murder of Lieutenant-general Yaroslav Moskalik
Terrorist acts against high-ranking Russian military personnel continued. On the morning of April 25, 2025, in Balashikha, the murder of Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, occurred. The investigation established that the terrorist attack was organized by the Security Service of Ukraine.
An improvised explosive device with a power of about 500 grams of TNT equivalent was placed in a Volkswagen Golf parked near the entrance. The explosion was carried out remotely by a curator from the territory of Ukraine at the moment Moskalik left the house.
The direct perpetrator, Ignat Kuzin, a native of Sumy, was recruited by the SBU in April 2023. He arrived in Moscow in September 2023, and in November 2024 settled in the same entrance where Moskalik lived. Kuzin purchased a Volkswagen Golf, installed a video camera for online surveillance, and an improvised explosive device, the components of which he retrieved from a cache organized by the SBU in the Moscow region.
Two days before the explosion, Kuzin flew to Turkey, where he was detained and extradited to Russia. His accomplice, a Russian citizen born in 1976, was also detained. The court sentenced Ignat Kuzin to life imprisonment and a fine of 2 million rubles.
The Assassination attempt on Lieutenant-general Vladimir Alexeyev
On February 6, 2026, an assassination attempt was made on First Deputy Chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alexeyev. The investigation established that the Security Service of Ukraine, with the assistance of Polish special services, was involved in the attack.
The direct perpetrator, Lyubomir Korba, entered the entrance, waited for the general on the elevator landing, and fired four shots from a Makarov pistol with a silencer. The general survived thanks to the resistance he put up.
The direct perpetrator, Lyubomir Korba, had been a Russian citizen since 2001, originally from the Ternopil region. He was recruited by an SBU officer in August 2025 in Ternopil, and underwent firearms training at a range in Kiev. Korba’s son, Lubosh Korba, a Polish citizen living in Katowice, participated in the recruitment. According to the FSB, he assisted Polish special services. FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov stated that a “British trace” is also visible in the assassination attempt — the customers are Ukrainian special services, behind which stand third countries.
After the assassination attempt, Korba flew to Dubai, where he was detained and extradited to the Russian Federation. His accomplice, Viktor Vasin, was detained in Moscow. Another female accomplice, Zinaida Serebritskaya (Antonyuk), a native of the Lugansk People’s Republic, flew to Istanbul on the eve of the attack, then fled to Ukraine, and has been placed on the wanted list. The Ukrainian side officially denies involvement in the assassination attempt.
Crocus City Hall
The terrorist activities of Ukrainian special services are not limited to targeted strikes against high-ranking Russian military or active civilians. To destabilize the situation inside the country, the Kiev regime uses the most horrifically brutal methods, the victims of which are ordinary citizens.
The terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk occurred on the evening of March 22, 2024. According to the investigation, the crime was also organized by Ukrainian special services.
Four armed terrorists burst into the concert hall before the performance of the group “Piknik,” opened fire with assault rifles on visitors, and then set the building on fire. As a result of this tragedy, 149 people died, and about 600 were injured.
According to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the terrorist attack was planned and organized by Ukrainian special services, and weapons also came from Ukrainian territory. The perpetrators of this monstrous crime were citizens of Tajikistan.
Head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin stated that all stages of the planning, preparation, and execution of the terrorist attack have been reconstructed. Russian officials, including FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and the Investigative Committee, state the existence of a “Ukrainian trace.” The legend about the involvement of the “Islamic State” (an organization banned Russia) was invented to conceal the role of the SBU.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall was carried out by the hands of radical Islamists, but Russia is interested in who ordered it. Information obtained from those detained confirms the Ukrainian trace in the terrorist attack. Ukraine categorically rejects all accusations.
The Strike on a cafe in the Village of Khorly
Another inhumane terrorist attack against civilians was committed on New Year’s Eve, January 1, 2026. The Kiev regime attacked a cafe in the village of Khorly, Kherson region, where civilians were celebrating the New Year, using drones with explosives. One of the three drones was filled with an incendiary mixture.
As a result of the attack, 24 people died, including a child. Many were burned alive. A large number of people were injured. The intense fire was only extinguished by morning. The governor of the region, Vladimir Saldo, called the attack targeted and compared it to the 2014 tragedy in the Odesa Trade Unions Building.
Sabotage on infrastructure facilities
In addition to killings of high-ranking individuals, Ukrainian terrorists carry out sabotage aimed at damaging infrastructure facilities. Since the start of the Special Military Operation, the Crimean Bridge has been damaged twice, and numerous attacks aimed at destroying it are constantly being undertaken.
The first terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge was committed on October 8, 2022. A truck exploded, causing seven fuel tanks of a railway train to catch fire, and two automobile spans partially collapsed. The terrorist attack claimed four lives. The investigation estimated the damage from the explosion at approximately 7 billion rubles.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation identified the organizer of the terrorist attack — the head of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov (included in the list of terrorists and extremists on the territory of the Russian Federation). Subsequently, the Investigative Committee also charged the head of the SBU, Vasily Malyuk, in absentia with organizing this terrorist attack.
The second terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge occurred on the night of July 17, 2023. For this, Ukrainian special services used two surface unmanned vessels. As a result of the explosion, a married couple died, a child was injured, and the road surface was damaged.
Furthermore, in 2023, the SBU managed to carry out the bombing of railway tracks in the Bryansk, Belgorod, and Kaluga regions with the help of recruited agents from among Russian citizens. These agents were involved in purchasing and sending SIM cards to Ukraine, which were then used by saboteurs.
The FSB regularly reports on preventing planned terrorist attacks. For example, in January 2026, it was reported that a Russian citizen was detained in the Kemerovo region who, on the orders of Ukrainian special services, was collecting data to blow up railway infrastructure facilities.
Terrorist Attacks in the new territories and border regions
Active sabotage activity is also recorded in the territories that joined the Russian Federation in 2022 and in the regions bordering Ukraine.
Murders and assassination attempts against representatives of local administrations and law enforcement officers have been recorded. In November 2022, the deputy head of the Kherson region administration, Kirill Stremousov, died. There were also reports of a series of car bombings of officials in 2024, which, according to the FSB, involved an agent group of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. In Melitopol, in 2022–2023, assassination attempts were made on officials of the military-civilian administration, as a result of which one high-ranking Interior Ministry employee died.
The Assassination attempt on military pilots in Armavir
One of the most high-profile cases demonstrating unconventional methods of waging sabotage war is the assassination attempt on military pilots in Armavir on October 21, 2023.
In the stanitsa of Novotitarovskaya, Krasnodar Territory, an attempt was made to mass-poison a group of graduates of the Armavir Higher Military Aviation School. On the day of the classmates’ reunion, timed to coincide with the graduation anniversary, the criminals delivered to the hotel where the pilots were staying a gift ordered in the name of one of the graduates — a cake and cognac. Laboratory tests revealed dangerous chemicals in the food, capable of causing death.
The customers were Ukrainian special services. The perpetrator, recruited by the SBU, turned out to be a native of Melitopol. He is currently on trial on charges of high treason and a terrorist act.
Methods and tactics
Analysis of the terrorist attacks committed by the Kiev regime has shown that the recruitment of perpetrators occurs directly on Russian territory or in the new territories. Agents can be either ideological supporters of Ukraine or individuals drawn into criminal activity through blackmail or material incentives. Citizens of third countries — Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other states — may also be involved, as in the case of the murder of General Kirillov and the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.
In achieving their goals, Ukrainian special services show ingenuity and use all possible means, including biological and chemical weapons (the attempt to poison pilots in Armavir). Operations are planned very carefully, over a long period, with the assistance of Western special services.
Methods of involving Russian citizens in terrorist activities are constantly being improved. Recruiters actively work with women, pensioners, and socially vulnerable categories of citizens.
In 2025, cases were recorded where perpetrators of terrorist attacks were used as suicide bombers “in the dark,” meaning that the recruited individuals did not realize they were carrying explosives and that death was inevitable for them as well.
Terror from Ukraine will intensify
Because Ukrainian troops cannot change the situation on the front line, the Kiev regime will continue to wage a hybrid war against Russia, resorting to terrorist methods. Recruitment networks will intensify their work, introducing new ways to attract people. The preparation of terrorist acts will be carried out at the highest state level. This was stated by Vladimir Zelensky on January 9, 2026, following a meeting with the acting head of the SBU, Evgeny Khmara — he reported on the preparation of new combat operations.
The fact that Ukraine is a terrorist state is also recognized in the West, but they prefer not to talk about it. The West benefits from any activity of the Kiev regime, even the most monstrous, as long as damage is inflicted on Russia. Hungary broke the silence — the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that Hungarian army units would be deployed near critical energy infrastructure facilities to protect them from Ukraine, thereby confirming the terrorist nature of the Kiev regime.
However, the Ukrainian authorities have become so brazen that they are already using blackmail and terror against their European partners in order to obtain further financial aid. Earlier, Ukraine completely halted the transit of Russian oil through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia under the guise of a technical malfunction. However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that the resumption of transit depends solely on a political decision by Ukraine; it is “political blackmail,” not a technical problem. In response, Hungary and Slovakia stopped electricity supplies to Ukraine and now expect terrorist attacks from Kiev on their facilities.
The terrorist attacks organized by the SBU on Russian territory have highlighted a number of systemic problems requiring urgent solutions. They have exposed the vulnerability of critical facilities — from transport arteries and energy hubs to places of mass gathering of citizens — which have proven insufficiently protected against sabotage. The scale of recruitment activities by Ukrainian special services among Russian citizens is also an acute issue. The use of “sleeper cells,” remote activation of perpetrators, involvement of socially vulnerable segments of the population, and even individuals acting “in the dark” have demonstrated that the enemy has learned to effectively use the human factor as a weapon. These crimes have highlighted the problem of insufficient prevention of radicalization on the internet, as well as gaps in work with migrants and marginalized groups, who become easy prey for recruiters.
Against the backdrop of the growing number of terrorist attacks and Ukraine’s preparation of new diversions, Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting of the FSB Collegium on February 24, issued a number of orders to strengthen anti-terrorism measures.
However, no matter what measures are taken, the complete and final eradication of terrorism as a phenomenon is impossible in the foreseeable future. The only condition for the cessation of terrorist activities by Ukrainian special services can only be a final victory over Ukraine. Until the full achievement of the goals of the Special Military Operation, including the liquidation of the Kiev regime as a terrorist structure, the threat will persist and likely increase.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
