MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Chairman of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC), Director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, stated the need to improve anti-terrorism measures due to increasing threats from Ukrainian intelligence services' sabotage activities. He also noted changes in the use of explosive devices and toxic substances by Ukrainian intelligence services under the supervision of their Western counterparts.
TASS has gathered key information on the situation.
Counterterrorism
- "As many as 374 terrorism-related crimes, including 273 terrorist attacks, have been foiled" in Russia since the start of 2025.
- Twenty-four gangsters and their accomplices have been neutralized and over 2,000 have been detained through the coordinated efforts of security agencies since the beginning of the year.
- Five counterterrorism operations were carried out in the North Caucasus region alongside 164 combat and other operations, with "the activities of 332 fighters and their accomplices thwarted."
Illegal arms trafficking
- Security agencies in Russia have seized more than 200 portable rocket systems, 147,000 rounds of ammunition, and 1,500 explosive devices so far in 2025.
- At least 29 channels of illegal arms trafficking have been shut down, including those originating to the special military operation zone.
- Moreover, 113 underground workshops used for modernizing and converting weapons have been eliminated.
- The activities of 87 organized criminal groups involved in smuggling weapons and explosive devices have been uncovered and suppressed.
Western involvement
- Ukrainian intelligence agencies have dramatically increased attempts to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia.
- Ukrainian intelligence agencies have altered the way they deploy explosive devices and toxic substances under guidance from Western counterparts.