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The FSB uses saboteurs as “expendable material”: a new scenario of the Russian special services

Since the beginning of 2024, there have been nine sabotage attacks on recruitment centers and police stations in Ukraine. This means that the number of attacks on territorial recruitment and social support centers is only growing. Russian agents have begun using recruited citizens to organize explosions in the TSCs, and then eliminate them to get rid of witnesses. Moreover, each of the perpetrators has been detained and will be punished. How the FSB recruits saboteurs, where to turn if you receive such an offer, and whether Ukraine should expect more large-scale sabotage – Komersant ukrainskyi looked into it.

Russian intelligence services continue to recruit citizens to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of Ukraine, in particular, against territorial recruitment centers (TCCs) and police stations. However, recent trends show that FSB supervisors decide not to leave the perpetrators alive.

According to law enforcement officials, Russian special services find the least media-literate people among Ukrainians who do not realize the scale of the war or invent their own “mission.” Among those recruited are young people under the age of 22-23, former convicts, and drug addicts. The main motive for them is money.

Why does the FSB kill its own agents?

The Russian secret service FSB, which has traditionally positioned itself as an all-powerful apparatus of control and influence, is increasingly becoming an executioner for its own agents. Saboteurs rarely receive the reward they were promised. In many cases, they are eliminated by the same curators from the FSB. In this way, Russia gets rid of unwanted witnesses and hides traces of its influence on terrorist attacks.

“The Russian special services undermine the perpetrators of the TCC mines. They use people and then eliminate them as unnecessary witnesses,” the SBU said.

Agents who know too much about the FSB’s real operations become dangerous not only for the service itself, but also for Russia’s political elite.

One of the most high-profile examples is the series of mysterious deaths of former agents and militants of the so-called LDNR. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, many of them became inconvenient – they knew about the Kremlin’s plans, special operations, and corruption schemes. Many were killed by the Russian security forces themselves.

The new scenario of Russian special services

The Russian Federation is actively exploiting Ukraine’s internal problems, using them for information and sabotage attacks. This was stated by military expert, former SBU officer Ivan Stupak in an exclusive commentary for [Kommersant]. However, he warned that in response, Russian forces could launch a new scenario – the persecution of the military.

“We have commanders who are suspected of incompetence, which led to significant losses. A scenario is possible when the information space will be filled with theses about their alleged collaboration with the enemy, calls for revenge. This could lead to physical attacks, acid attacks, car arsons, or even murders. Russia will use all of this to create the impression of chaos and instability in Ukraine,” emphasized Ivan Stupak.

In his opinion, it is important that Ukrainian society is aware of these risks and does not succumb to information manipulations that benefit the aggressor.

The purpose of the attacks: panic and discrediting mobilization

Russia is not inventing anything new, but only reinforcing the weaknesses that already exist in society, says Ivan Stupak. One of these areas is the campaign against the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRCs).

“Distrust and disrespect for military personnel working in the TCCs have long been the subject of public discussion. Many negative examples appear every day, and Russia has started to actively use this. I’m even surprised that they started doing this so late – perhaps because of the inertia of their state machine,” said Ivan Stupak.

According to him, Russian special services recruit Ukrainians under various pretexts: some for money, some out of hatred or envy. The goal is to carry out arson and sabotage against the TCC.

“Russia will squeeze the maximum out of this topic like an orange – as long as there is juice, they will not stop. But if the SBU starts to work more actively at the stage of preparing sabotage, as well as closes the channels of supply of explosives from Russia, Belarus or Transnistria, the number of such attacks will decrease to almost zero,” Stupak said.

Ukrainian law enforcement officials, in turn, urge citizens to be vigilant and report any recruitment attempts to the “Burn the FSB” chatbot

“If you or someone you know is offered to ‘just bring a package’ to the TCC, police or other administrative building, you should know that they want to use you and destroy you,” the statement reads.

To avoid danger, the SBU recommends:

• Report recruitment attempts to the @spaly_fsb_bot chatbot.
• Provide details of the crime and recruiter’s contacts.
• Maintain confidentiality and cooperate with law enforcement.

A series of attacks on the SEC: what is known

• In Rivne, a person died as a result of a terrorist attack in the building of the regional shopping center.
• In Pyriatyn, Poltava region, a military recruiting center officer was shot dead at a gas station.
• In Pavlohrad, an explosion occurred near the building of the military center.
• In Kamianets-Podilskyi, an explosion occurred in the building of the military center.

The Ukrainian authorities called for a comprehensive investigation and punishment of those responsible, as well as increased security measures at the TCC. Officials emphasize the importance of supporting the army and preventing provocations aimed at undermining the country’s defense capabilities.