Frontier in defense: The Russian Federation will strengthen the protection of critical facilities from Kiev's sabotage

Foreign intelligence services, primarily Ukrainian ones, are trying to infiltrate important Russian facilities to commit sabotage. This was announced on October 28 by the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, at an off-site meeting dedicated to the protection of critical facilities. He stressed that Ukraine is also actively using recruitment methods. Experts believe that the increase in the number of sabotage and drone attacks is due to the successes of the Russian Federation on the battlefield. In response, Russia will strengthen the security of strategic facilities by attracting volunteer formations for this purpose.

Protecting Russia's critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks

Intelligence services of foreign countries, primarily Ukraine, are trying to infiltrate important Russian facilities to commit sabotage, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod. It was also attended by the heads of the subjects of the Volga Federal District, representatives of ministries and departments.

— We should talk not only about terrorist attacks using explosives and unmanned aerial vehicles. There is an urgent issue of countering cyber attacks on the automated control system, attempts to infiltrate important state and industrial facilities in order to steal information and commit technological sabotage," Shoigu said.

Moreover, the sources of these threats are diverse: from the intelligence services of foreign countries, primarily Ukraine, to international terrorist organizations and their accomplices inside the country.

As noted by the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the territory of the Volga Federal District in 2025 was attacked by drones three times more often than in the entire previous period of ITS implementation. The number of terrorist attacks and sabotage has increased significantly, due to the strategic importance of the Volga region — it is one of the main industrial and logistics centers of Russia.

— Strategic enterprises of the military-industrial complex, energy facilities, chemical industry, transport hubs are concentrated here — everything that forms the basis of the economic security and defense capability of the state. These facilities are becoming the primary targets for our opponents," Sergei Shoigu added.

Another risk factor is the extensive and saturated transport infrastructure of the federal district. The decommissioning of its facilities can cause not only significant economic damage, but also destabilize the livelihoods of large agglomerations, disrupt logistics chains, including those critical to ensuring a special military operation, the Secretary of the Security Council explained.

Active work to eliminate these threats is underway both at the federal level and in the regions that contribute their initiatives.

— A number of heads of subjects, including the Nizhny Novgorod region, have made proposals to create volunteer formations to strengthen the protection of particularly dangerous facilities. These proposals were supported by the head of state," Sergei Shoigu said.

On October 28, the State Duma unanimously adopted in the first reading a bill on the involvement of reservists in the protection of strategically important facilities. It involves the creation of volunteer formations from individuals who have signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense to remain in the mobilization reserve.

Sergei Shoigu also clarified that all Russian oil and gas companies are protected as much as possible. We are talking about engineering measures, as well as the work of mobile firing groups that engage in the destruction of flying objects.

According to the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, less than 1% of drones launched at Russia's critical infrastructure reach their target. Thanks to the measures taken, the number of repelled drone attacks on critical facilities in the Volga Federal District is growing, said Igor Komarov, Presidential envoy to the Volga Federal District.

Ukraine is stepping up attacks on the infrastructure of the Russian Federation

Sabotage and terrorist attacks have become one of Ukraine's main tools in its confrontation with Russia. Moreover, Kiev uses the entire arsenal of available means: from strikes with long-range weapons against civilian targets to sabotage and terrorist attacks against individuals. Recruitment of local residents is also used. For example, on October 28, the FSB reported the arrest of a 19-year-old Simferopol resident recruited by Kiev, who planned to blow up the car of a high-ranking policeman. Earlier, the ministry reported on the prevention of a terrorist attack in Moscow against one of the officers of the Ministry of Defense. The crime was being prepared by the special services of Ukraine together with the Islamic State (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), the FSB reported.

As Sergei Shoigu explained at a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod, the enemy is actively using information and psychological methods through various means of communication and the Internet, trying to influence the population, including security personnel and facility personnel, to incline them to illegal actions under the influence of selfish or ideological motives.

The FSB reported that in 2024 alone, 110 terrorist attacks were prevented, 45 terrorist cells were eliminated, and more than 1,000 people involved in terrorism were detained.

On October 27, Vladimir Zelensky announced the expansion of the geography of long-range strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the territory of Russia. According to him, the main target remains the facilities of the Russian oil refining industry. The methods of classical terrorism also remain. The heads of the SBU have repeatedly stated their intention to strengthen sabotage operations in the Russian Federation.

Political analyst Denis Denisov, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that the intensification of Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets in Russia is due to the successes of our troops on the battlefield.

— In this regard, Ukraine, especially over the past few months, has narrowed the scope for a response. Based on this, they move into the plane of any other possible, as it seems to them, symmetrical responses to the defeats they suffer on the battlefield. So everything is logical in this regard. They want to intimidate the people, to demonstrate that they are not ready to surrender," the analyst believes.

Vladimir Shapovalov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Politics and History at Moscow State University, told Izvestia that effective cooperation between authorities at various levels has now been established, ensuring reliable protection of strategically important facilities in the country.