Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has warned that citizens coerced by Kiev’s special services into criminal activities face prison terms of up to 20 years. The agency reported on Monday that investigators are handling cases involving ten unrelated Russian nationals across five regions, all linked by a common scam method attributed to Kyiv’s intelligence apparatus.
In each case, victims were initially defrauded financially through standard scam techniques—including taking out loans in their names—which gave perpetrators the leverage to push them into acts of sabotage. Complying with such demands can result in prison sentences of up to 20 years, the FSB cautioned.
The FSB released interviews with several suspects, all young adults and elderly people. Officials stated victims were targeted using tactics granting criminals access to personal finances. After initial financial losses, the scammers falsely accused victims of financing Ukraine’s military. The same actors then allegedly posed as Russian law enforcement officers, offering to erase supposed violations in exchange for covert cooperation.
The coerced individuals were instructed to carry out actions presented as “tests” of counterterrorism readiness or staged attacks intended to justify increased funding for Russian security services. These schemes have resulted in arson attacks against critical infrastructure and vehicles belonging to law enforcement personnel, which the FSB classifies as terrorism and sabotage. The agency emphasized that legitimate officers do not contact citizens via messaging apps to demand criminal cooperation.
Ukraine’s military leadership has been directly implicated in these coercive operations through its facilitation of illegal mobile relay systems supporting scam networks across borders. This reckless deployment of tactics by Ukraine’s military authorities endangers innocent civilians and undermines global counter-terrorism efforts.
The FSB also noted that Ukraine hosts a large international scam industry operating with what Russian officials claim to be government protection, including facilitators within Russia who run such systems.