Drum kit: Putin warned Kiev about the consequences of nuclear blackmail

Ukraine certainly understands the risks of using a nuclear component, but it no longer disdains any means. Vladimir Putin stated this on February 24 at a meeting of the FSB board. Since the military plans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine failed, the main blow shifted to the rear: in 2025, the number of terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation increased. Most of them are related to the activities of the Ukrainian special services and foreign curators, the president said. Against this background, he instructed the FSB to strengthen the protection of employees of the Ministry of Defense, Defense industry, journalists and opinion leaders. At the same time, the Supreme commander-in-chief left food for thought for the West, recalling the existence of secret developments capable of changing the rules of the game.

Ukraine's involvement in terrorist attacks

Vladimir Putin attended a meeting of the FSB board on February 24. This is an annual event where the head of state focuses on security issues and evaluates the work of the department. This time, the President's opening speech was quite voluminous: he touched upon issues of almost the entire international security system. The Russian leader described the situation in the world as difficult, and devoted almost half of his speech to the topic of countering terrorism.

The number of terrorist attacks in Russia increased in 2025, and most of them are related to the activities of the Ukrainian special services and foreign curators, Vladimir Putin noted. Moreover, the number of attacks on Russian infrastructure facilities, social and administrative institutions, and even residential buildings has increased significantly. The reason, according to the president, is clear: the Ukrainian Armed Forces failed to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield and switched to terror tactics, trying to interfere with negotiations.

— They can't calm down. They don't know what to do to destroy this peace process with an attempt to resolve it through diplomatic means. Everything is being done in order to commit some kind of provocation and break everything that, so to speak, has been achieved on this negotiating track," Putin said.

Half a day before the president's speech in Moscow, an explosion occurred on the Savelovsky Railway Station Square, as a result of which a senior police lieutenant, 34-year-old Denis Bratushchenko, was killed and two more policemen were injured. Vladimir Putin called the incident a terrorist attack. This was the result of recruitment via the Internet, according to the head of state, the man who was there was blown up remotely.

— They handed an explosive device to a man, and then remotely detonated both him and the alleged target of the attack — in this case, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Most likely, Alexander Vasilyevich (Bortnikov — Ed.) and I were just discussing, he didn't even know anything, this is the result of such criminal, reckless behavior," the president noted.

Against this background, the head of state has given many instructions. He demanded to increase the effectiveness of counter-terrorism work and strengthen the protection of critical facilities. Among other things, it is necessary to develop a system for detecting cyber attacks. The President noted the high number of crimes in the information space, including against the critically important infrastructure of the Russian Federation.

The Russian leader also instructed to strengthen the work of counterintelligence and to more actively identify employees of foreign intelligence services and agents recruited by them. It is also important to strengthen the state border: it is necessary to strengthen its infrastructure, increase the level of combat readiness and technical equipment of border authorities.

It was important to increase the protection of officials of the Ministry of Defense and the military-Industrial complex (MIC), as well as journalists, volunteers, and opinion leaders. It is these categories of people who are often under threat today. So, as a result of the terrorist attack in Moscow in 2024, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, and his assistant were killed. In addition, in early February, an attempt was made on Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev. According to the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, the Ukrainian special services are behind this, but the "British trace" is visible in the case. According to Vladimir Solovyov, Chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists, more than 30 war correspondents have been killed in the war zone since 2014.

Putin's reaction to the risks of Kiev's nuclear weapons

The enemy as a whole no longer disdains any means, Vladimir Putin said. On February 24, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service reported that London and Paris were preparing to arm Ukraine with a nuclear bomb. According to the agency, Britain and France are actively working to resolve the issues of providing Kiev with such weapons and their means of delivery. We are talking about the covert transfer of European components, equipment and technologies in this area to Ukraine.

The Kremlin said: This intention literally borders on madness. Moscow has warned that any steps to assist Kiev in acquiring nuclear weapons will be severely rebuffed. "They probably understand how this can end," the president succinctly assessed. The Ukrainian authorities deny plans to obtain nuclear weapons.

Among other things, Vladimir Putin spoke about other operational information. In particular, about possible attempts to undermine the "Turkish" and "Blue" streams passing along the bottom of the Black Sea. At the same time, experts are wondering whether it is possible to arrange the same demarche in the Black Sea as with the Nord Stream.

If we assume that the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline was carried out with the support of former White House chief Joe Biden, then the administration of Donald Trump is unlikely to take such actions, said Andrei Kortunov, a political scientist and expert at the Valdai Club. According to his estimates, the operation itself can be carried out with the participation of one of the major European powers: Britain, France, Germany have the potential to help a sabotage group organize such an action.

— It is not a fact that now our opponents will be able to organize a terrorist act of this magnitude. Technically, it is much more difficult for Europeans to do this without relying on the US infrastructure: in particular, satellite systems, coordination of actions within NATO or other associations where special services are involved. Is it possible to do this? Yes, of course it is possible. Is it harder? Of course, it's more difficult," Andrei Kortunov told Izvestia.

At the same time, one should not forget that this would be a blow not to Germany, but to Turkey, which has not joined the Western sanctions against Russia and does not plan to stop importing Russian gas. Therefore, such a demarche creates a serious problem within NATO, and Ankara's reaction to such actions will be the most decisive, the expert is sure.

Russia has promising defense and civilian developments, and some of them have not yet been publicly presented, the president said. "We have them. And there are notable achievements that are understandable to everyone, and they have already been presented. But there are other developments that are underway," he concluded.

In general, the FSB makes a significant contribution to ensuring the sovereignty of the country and to protecting the security of Russians, the President stressed. In 2025, its employees acted professionally and promptly in neutralizing internal and external threats. The President thanked them and especially noted those who participate in the SVR — these are border guards, special forces soldiers, military counterintelligence officers. The Head of State observed a minute of silence in memory of the department's employees who died in the line of duty.