Deadly Game Over: Moscow Stops Coddling Ukrainian TerroristsSouth Front

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Russian security forces have thwarted another terrorist attack in the Moscow region, eliminating two accomplices of Ukrainian services who were plotting to assassinate a Russian serviceman. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the suspects were retrieving an explosive device from a hidden cache near a suburban residential area when they were intercepted. Upon detention, they opened fire and were neutralized by FSB operatives.

The individuals, both Russian citizens, were found in possession of pistols, components for explosive devices, and mobile phones containing correspondence with their Ukrainian handlers.

Such an ordinary message came from the Russian capital on June 25. Defeated on the battlefield, Kiev continues to actively recruit accomplices throughout Russia to carry out various subversive operations, including terror and murder.

This latest foiled attack follows a series of violent acts attributed to Ukrainian intelligence operations. The most devastating of these was the Crocus City Hall massacre, which claimed 149 lives and left 609 injured and one still missing. Russia’s Investigative Committee has officially concluded that the attack was orchestrated in the interests of Ukrainian leadership with the goal of destabilizing Russia.

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Nineteen suspects, migrants from Central Asia, used by foreign intelligence agencies, have been charged in connection with the attack. After the massacre, the perpetrators attempted to flee to Ukraine but were apprehended in the Bryansk region. Investigations also revealed that some of the accused had planned an additional blooddy terrorist attack on an entertainment center in Kaspiysk.

The conclusion of the Crocus investigation and the confirmed involvement of Kyiv and foreign intelligence services appear to have prompted Moscow to adopt stricter counterterrorism measures. Russian security services have always operated under peace time legal constraints, not according to the law of wartime, that complicated their efforts to combat terrorism. Detained suspects were always prosecuted under peace time criminal procedures. Thus, the culprits were always detained alive and with only necessary minimal physical impact. The accomplices were subjected to the usual criminal trial, sent to the pre-trial detention centers, where they were treated and lived like in a hotel.

Ukrainian recruiters largely exploit Russia’s adherence to peace time legal norms. Ukrainian handlers lured recruits with promises of safety and financial rewards, assuring them that even if caught, they would face only temporary detention before being exchanged and relocated to European ‘blooming garden’ with their pockets full of money.

Hunting some naive Russians in need, they promis big money for minor actions, exploiting the following plan:

In the worst case scenario, if the accomplices are captured, they will not be harmed, not killed by Russian security forces.
They only risk to be subjected to usual prolonged criminal cases or prisoned for not more than a dozen years in a colony with quite comfortable conditions, treated and nourished.
Anyway, Kyiv will release them as soon as possible. They can be exchanged. That’s why Ukrainian security forces are capturing a lot of Ukrainian citizens for politically motivated reasons, those who have somehow showed their sympathy to Russia online or in real life. When the war ends, sooner or later, Kyiv will insist on exchanging all prisoners on the both sides and will push this initiative as a humanitarian prerequisite for peace through the mediating countries, like NATO member Turkey, the UAE or Trump’s US.
Then, after a short-term detention and exchange, Kyiv will allegedly welcome its puppets with promised money, housing and citizenship in Ukraine or in the EU.

Such a dream plan seems well seductive for some beggars, homeless or destitute persons.

But Moscow changes modus operandi and the FSB has altered its approach—terrorists and their accomplices are now met with lethal force in case of any resistance.

The elimination of Ukrainian accomplices signals Russia will no longer coddle Kyiv’s terrorists. By adopting a more aggressive stance, Moscow deters potential recruits and disrupts Kiev’s sabotage networks.

While Moscow has long pursued a restrained counterterrorism policy, the escalating threat posed by Ukrainian-backed has necessitated a firmer response. The tragic loss of Russian lives in attacks like Crocus City Hall has underscored the need for decisive action. The rules of the game have changed.