Russia is planning terrorist attacks during the elections in the occupied territories, according to intelligence reports
Russian intelligence agencies may be planning terrorist attacks, acts of sabotage, and bombings during the illegal elections to the Russian State Duma and the forced “early voting” in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has issued a warning to this effect.
According to the SVR, the Russian side may be planning such crimes under the guise of Ukrainian actions in order to later use them for informational and political purposes.
Ukrainian intelligence believes that Moscow may attempt to exploit potential incidents to achieve several objectives at once.
Specifically, these include:
- justifying a further intensification of repression against the local population;
- creating a pretext for announcing a new wave of mobilization in Russia;
- derailing the U.S.-mediated peace process by artificially escalating the situation and discrediting Ukraine.
According to the State Security Service, various scenarios could unfold during the active voting period from September 18–20 in the temporarily occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, as well as in Crimea.
Among them, intelligence cites:
- bombings of polling stations or ballot storage facilities outside of operating hours;
- sabotage against transportation and infrastructure facilities used to transport members of election commissions;
- assassination attempts on collaborators, particularly the heads of the occupying election commissions and candidates for parliament.
The Foreign Intelligence Service speculates that following such incidents, Russia may attempt to blame Ukraine, specifically Ukrainian drones or sabotage groups.
In light of possible provocations, the Foreign Intelligence Service has urged residents of the temporarily occupied territories to avoid crowded places as much as possible between September 17 and 21.
They also recommend staying away from:
- so-called polling stations;
- administrative buildings involved in organizing the voting;
- military facilities of the Russian occupiers.
“Russian special services do not care about civilian casualties if it serves their current political objectives. Any gathering of people in the temporarily occupied territories during these days is a potential target for provocations by Kremlin propaganda,” warns Ukrainian intelligence.
At the same time, the scenarios described are a warning from the Foreign Intelligence Service about possible actions by Russian special services, not a report of terrorist attacks or acts of sabotage that have already taken place.
This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service.
Russia is preparing to hold illegal “elections” to the State Duma in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Voting is scheduled for September 18–20, 2026.
Through the Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia has launched a new propaganda campaign to create the illusion of legitimacy for the September “elections” to the State Duma. A statement from the SVR claims that the EU, PACE, and Western intelligence agencies are allegedly preparing destabilization efforts, cyberattacks, and provocations, as well as enlisting the Russian opposition to discredit the vote.
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