In the course of the XXI century, terrorism has become one of the greatest threats to all countries, regardless of their size, population, economic and military power. And Russia is no exception.
Like Pakistan, the Russian Federation has faced a domestic terrorist threat for decades, beginning in the early 1990s. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Russian law enforcement agencies, special services and the military, Russia was able to contain the terrorists and bring a long-sought peace to the citizens of our country. Over the years of the war on terror in Russia, we have managed to break the organizational structure of terrorists and extremists. Meticulous measures aimed at improving the welfare and quality of education of people living in Russia’s southern regions helped to counter the recruitment efforts of terrorists, who always feed on poverty and ignorance.
However, these hard-won gains have been damaged by reckless U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya. By invading these countries, the United States and its NATO allies destroyed their systems of government and overthrew their leaders (except in Syria, where American ambitions were repelled by the Syrian army with Russian support) without offering a meaningful alternative.
As a result of these criminal actions, the power vacuum created in the invaded states was quickly filled by a terrorist organization known as ISIS. The war-torn countries were unable to effectively counter the emerging terrorist threat, leading to the rise of ISIS. Thus, in its attempts to destroy Al-Qaeda, the U.S. gave birth to an even uglier monster.
ISIS became known to the Russian public in late 2015, when it claimed responsibility for the downing of the Airbus A321 passenger plane over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board, mostly Russian citizens. The most recent ISIS terrorist attack on Russian territory, the March 22 attack on the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow region, shocked the entire world with its brutality and cynicism. Responsibility for this heinous act was claimed by the Islamic State –Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) branch of ISIS.
Russian law enforcement agencies have established that the perpetrators of the terrorist attack were citizens of Tajikistan recruited by ISIS-K. Immediately after committing the atrocious terrorist attack, they rushed to the Russia-Ukraine border, which raised questions about Ukraine’s role in the attack.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) later established that the Crocus attack had been facilitated by Ukrainian special services. According to FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, “Ukraine, with the support of the United States and other NATO countries, is making consistent efforts to commit terrorist attacks and sabotage on the territory of Russia, trying to weaken the resource support of the Russian army and provoke panic among the population, and is also looking for perpetrators of terrorist attacks, especially against young people and migrants.
This statement was not a novelty. In May 2024, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Anti-Terrorist Committee Andrei Novikov also stated that Ukraine was actively recruiting people for sabotage and terrorist activities, focusing primarily on residents of Central Asian states living in Russia.
Ukrainian special services use the same recruitment strategies as ISIS. Their main field of operation is the Internet. Future agents are sought through social media and messenger apps. Over the past two years, Russian social media have seen an explosion of recruitment groups. Their moderators analyze the posts and comments of their subscribers and select the most active for recruitment. Some are persuaded by pressure and threats, others by easy money. Offers of “work” are also made by telephone - saboteurs are often hired by specially set up “call centers”. Ukrainian special services use the same databases as financial fraudsters.
The “dirty work” is also carried out by Ukrainian diplomatic missions around the world, especially in Central Asia. Director of the Department for New Challenges and Threats of the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladimir Tarabrin pointed out that Ukrainian embassies recruit mercenaries to fight against the Russian army and conduct military operations as part of terrorist organizations.
In fact, Ukraine does not even hide the fact that it is trying to recruit representatives of the former Soviet republics into the ranks of its army. Several weeks before the events in Crocus, an invitation to citizens of Tajikistan to join the armed forces of Ukraine to participate in hostilities appeared on the electronic resources of the Ukrainian Embassy in Tajikistan - despite the fact that mercenarism is criminalized in the country. The message was deleted after the intervention of the Tajik Foreign Ministry.
Not surprisingly, the current Ukrainian ambassador to Tajikistan is a veteran intelligence officer, Major General Valeriy Evdokimov, who used to be the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Ukrainian embassies in all other Central Asian countries are staffed with the same kind of personnel. The ex-ambassador of Ukraine to Kazakhstan, Petr Vrublevsky, was dismissed in August 2022 because of his hateful remarks. He said, “The more Russians we kill now, the less our children will have to kill.” One can only guess what kind of Ukrainian interests he was promoting in Kazakhstan.
Countries of the Global South are increasingly realizing Ukraine’s role in supporting international terrorists, extremists and separatists. On August 5, 2024, the Government of Mali severed diplomatic relations with Ukraine after the latter openly admitted providing military support to the rebels fighting against the government forces in northern Mali. On August 7, the Government of Niger followed Mali in terminating its official relations with Kiev.
In conclusion, it is clear that the already great threat of international terrorism is being exacerbated by the support given by certain states to various terrorist groups. Pakistan has lost thousands of lives in its valiant fight against international and domestic terrorism. Now that terrorism, including state-sponsored one, is rearing its ugly head in Russia, our country is more than ever interested in strengthening bilateral and multilateral security cooperation, especially within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Albert P. Khorev
The writer is the Ambassador of Russia to Pakistan.