(Moscow) The head of the Russian security service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, on Tuesday accused Ukraine and the West of trying to incite the Russians to sabotage and armed rebellion against the backdrop of an offensive in Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian security services and their Western bosses have launched an aggressive ideological and recruitment campaign targeting our citizens, especially the younger generation,” Bortnikov said in a statement at a meeting of the Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee.
According to him, this campaign aims to involve Russians “ in subversive, terrorist and extremist activities ” in Russia.
Mr. Bortnikov assured that 118 “terrorist crimes” had been foiled in Russia since February, “ whose perpetrators are young people and adolescents, including minors”.
These comments refer to those last week by President Vladimir Putin, who accused the Western secret services of being involved in “ terrorist ” attacks in Russia.
At the beginning of March, a famous Russian military blogger, Maxime Fomin, known for his fierce support for the Russian offensive in Ukraine, was killed in a bomb attack in a café in Saint Petersburg.
Several Russians have also recently been sentenced to heavy prison terms for setting fire to military police stations used for the recruitment of soldiers.
Others were found guilty of publishing “false information” or of “discrediting” the army, and sentenced to several years in prison.
The Russian army has faced several acts of sabotage on military bases since the start of the conflict launched in February 2022.
