Over 30 terrorist attacks and 11 poisonings of military personnel since the beginning of the year. National Police reveals new schemes for recruiting Ukrainians by Russia

Russian special services are increasingly recruiting Ukrainians for sabotage, terrorist attacks, and assassinations. While recruits were initially tasked with photographing military facilities or setting cars on fire, now the ultimate goal is increasingly becoming terrorist attacks and assassinations.

This was reported by the Deputy Head of the National Police, the Chief of the Criminal Police Andriy Nebytov.

According to law enforcement officials, such activity became systematic in early 2024. Russian curators find potential performers in Telegram channels and chat rooms where people are looking for work, easy money, or drugs.

At first, the person is offered a simple task — to photograph an object, transmit information, move a package, or deliver a box. After that, the tasks gradually become more complicated: from property damage and arson to terrorist attacks and murders.

In 2024, Russians, according to police data, organized nine terrorist acts through Ukrainians. In 2025, there were already 61 such facts, 27 of which were stopped by law enforcement officers at the preparation stage. And in total, 52 terrorist attacks were uncovered last year.

Since the beginning of 2026, the police and SBU have registered 31 terrorist acts, 80% of which have already been solved. Another 14 attacks were prevented during the preparation stage.

Scheme — poisoning of military personnel

Military personnel have become a separate target of Russian special services. Since the beginning of 2026, law enforcement agencies have registered 11 cases of poisoning of military personnel, in which a connection to Russian recruitment is being investigated or has already been established.

For such operations, the Russians, in particular, use underage girls. The girls establish contact with the military, may invite them to a meeting or give them a dangerous "gift," and then kill them.

Thus, in late July, a 20-year-old woman was detained in Poltava, suspected of poisoning two servicemen with drugs she received by mail. And in Rivne, law enforcement officers are investigating the death of a serviceman who, according to investigators, was poisoned by an underage girl with drugs mixed with alcohol. The Russian curator installed a surveillance program on her phone and remotely monitored her actions.

Scheme — call centers in the occupation

Another new Russian scheme is recruiting through fraudulent call centers in temporarily occupied territories. The attackers call people and introduce themselves as SBU officers. They may claim that the person has allegedly purchased Russian-made goods and financed the aggressor state.

Previously, such calls were mainly used to extort money — the police are currently investigating 449 cases of fraud under this scheme. But now it is also being used for recruitment.

After intimidating the person, they send fake summonses for questioning, reports of suspicion, or other forged documents via messenger. Then, they offer to allegedly help them avoid criminal liability in exchange for completing criminal tasks.

Law enforcement officers emphasize that the scheme of Russian special services is usually the same: first, manipulation and fear, then a simple task, and then gradual involvement in more serious crimes and blackmail.

At the same time, the National Police claims that preventive work is already yielding results. In particular, 260 children have independently contacted law enforcement after attempts by Russian curators to involve them in criminal activity. This has helped prevent terrorist attacks in which minors were planned to be used as perpetrators.

Law enforcement officers emphasize that Russia is constantly changing its recruitment methods, so Ukrainians are urged not to carry out suspicious tasks and to immediately report to the police any attempts to involve them in crimes.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.