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European intelligence agencies are stepping up their preparedness for possible suicide attacks that resemble radical Islamist attacks in their tactics. According to intelligence reports, Russian special services are practising similar methods in Ukraine, which may indicate a change in approaches to hybrid warfare.
This was reported by the Robert Lansing Institute for Global Threats and Democracy.
Russian intelligence had not previously used suicide bombers in the war against Ukraine. However, on 17 February 2025, in Kamianets-Podilskyi, far from the front line, a local drug addict received explosives from a cache and hired a courier to deliver the package to a military recruitment centre. Upon arrival, the package exploded, killing the courier and injuring eight other people.
Three days earlier, a similar terrorist attack took place in Mykolaiv, when a suicide bomber recruited by Russian agents detonated an improvised explosive device. Ukrainian counter-intelligence established that both attacks were coordinated by the Russian Federal Security Service. This came as a surprise to experts, as such operations had previously been the responsibility of Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU).
Experts fear that Moscow may expand the use of suicide bombers in Europe, using Russian migrants to destabilise the situation. Such tactics could help strengthen the position of far-right political movements, many of which have ties to the Kremlin.
Western intelligence agencies have received information about the creation of a new Russian sabotage group specialising in terrorist attacks, assassinations and espionage in Europe and North America. This organisation, known as the Special Tasks Department (SSD), operates under the auspices of Russian military intelligence and coordinates covert operations against Western countries.
If the information is confirmed, the use of suicide bombers could become part of a broader interagency strategy of the Kremlin. At the same time, the FSB’s involvement hints at possible blackmail and coercion of Ukrainian and Russian citizens, especially those with relatives in the occupied territories. The FSB has previously used blackmail to recruit Chechen migrants in Europe.
Analysts predict that Russia could carry out a series of terrorist attacks in Europe, targeting military, energy and government facilities. The most vulnerable countries are Germany, France, the UK, Austria and Poland.
Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police detained two Russian agents who carried out a contracted terrorist attack in Khmelnytskyi region on 5 February. The defendants used a courier from a delivery service to bring explosives to a target identified by Russian special services.
The SBU stressed that in case of an attempt to recruit for arson of AFU vehicles, administrative buildings, terrorist attacks or mining, one should immediately report it through the “Burn the FSB” chatbot.
