Be careful: Putin says the risks of terrorist threats in Russia are growing

The Kiev regime, unable to stop the advance of the Russian troops, together with its patrons turned to open terrorist methods. Vladimir Putin said this on April 28 at a meeting on election security. An example of this is a strike on an oil refinery in Tuapse, which can cause serious environmental consequences. The risks of various threats on the territory of the Russian Federation, according to the president's estimates, continue to grow — he instructed law enforcement officers to "most decisively and harshly" stop any attempts of sabotage and terrorist acts and manifestations of extremism.

Attack on an oil refinery in Tuapse

On the evening of April 28, Vladimir Putin convened a meeting dedicated to ensuring security in the upcoming elections in Russia. Virtually the entire leadership of the security bloc, as well as the heads of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts and the Prosecutor General, personally came to the Kremlin. According to the president, the risks of terrorist threats in Russia are growing, and radical and extremist groups continue their subversive work.

— We know that both the Kiev regime and its patrons have turned to openly terrorist methods. The reasons for them are obvious, they are understandable to everyone. The enemy is unable to stop the advance of our troops and our guys on the line of contact, losing certain territories every day, every day. Hence the emphasis on terror, both against the military and against civilians," he said.

Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasingly attacking civilian infrastructure with drones. The latest example is attacks on energy facilities in Tuapse, which can potentially cause serious environmental consequences, the president said. This is the third attack on the refinery in less than two weeks. Rospotrebnadzor said that the concentration of dangerous gorenje products exceeds the norm, the authorities recommend residents not to open windows. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, is currently there. On the same day, the minister arrived in Tuapse, where he visited the fire extinguishing site at the refinery. The head of the Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratiev, has already informed Vladimir Putin that there are no serious threats.

Provocations, including those organized from abroad, should be expected during the pre-election period, the president warned. In September, Russians will have to decide on their candidates for the State Duma of the IX convocation for the next five years. The voting is scheduled to take place over three days, from September 18 to September 20. In addition to the federal campaign, 39 Russian regions will elect deputies to local parliaments.

— Those who deny Donbass and Novorossiya the historical right to be part of their Homeland, part of Russia, will, of course, try, as it was before, to try to prevent them. Let me remind you that elections are not held in Ukraine under the pretext of martial law, but they are trying to prevent us from doing so. But in these territories and in these regions, people live strong, reliable, as they say, with character. I'm sure they won't be intimidated by this," Vladimir Putin continued.

The priority for all government representatives is the safety of election participants: candidates, election commission members and observers, and voters who will come to the polling stations. First of all, this, of course, concerns the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. For the first time, residents there will elect deputies at the federal level. The likelihood of provocations in the State Duma elections by the Ukrainian regime is indeed extremely high, experts admit. But both the CEC of Russia and the regional election commissions have already passed many similar strength checks, so there is no reason to doubt the security of the system.

— The system of election commissions has shown itself to be a stable, strong structure capable of holding elections even under pressure and shelling. Therefore, if the entire Ukrainian regime becomes tense, they will not be able to disrupt, but at least question, the holding of elections throughout Russia, primarily in those regions that are either in the war zone or near this zone," political analyst Dmitry Yelovsky told Izvestia.

How will the security of the State Duma elections be ensured?

It is necessary to pay increased attention to the organization of elections in all border regions, as well as in all areas located near the state borders, the President noted. For them, it is necessary to take the necessary measures in advance, taking into account the operational situation. Law enforcement officers need to stop attempts at sabotage and terrorist acts and manifestations of extremism "in the most decisive and harsh way" - the president emphasized this several times during the meeting.

Local authorities should also be on the alert — they need to be guided not just by a formal approach, but by the real situation and the solution of tasks on which people's lives and safety depend.

It is necessary to create conditions for the participation in the voting of military personnel stationed in the area of their military operations, the head of state added. The Central Election Commission of Russia has already had such an experience, in particular, during the presidential elections in 2024. At that time, temporary polling stations were created for them directly on the territory of military units. At the same time, the Central Election Commission provided the opportunity to vote outside the territory of its constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

It is also necessary to reliably protect the digital systems of the Central Election Commission from any outside interference, the head of state noted. Back in 2019, the Central Election Commission began testing the remote electronic voting (DEG) system, as early as 2021, DEG was used in State Duma elections in seven regions, and in 2025, online voting was used in 24 regions. Last year, about 100 hacker attacks were recorded on the infrastructure of the DEG, and more than 130 thousand attacks were carried out on the portal of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.