FSB reports deaths of two ‘members of a terrorist organization’ who may have been preparing to attack a military enlistment office

On December 28, the FSB reported that two men had been killed outside of the city of Nalchik. They were allegedly preparing to attack the city of Chegem “on instructions from Ukrainian Special Services.”

A press release said the two men had been previously convicted as “members of a terrorist organization” that, allegedly, existed until 2021 in a prison in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. After completing their terrorist act, the pair were allegedly planning to go to Ukraine and fight against Russia.

The FSB claims that the men put up armed resistance when officers attempted to arrest them. At the site of the struggle, officers allegedly found explosives with a 2 kilogram (about four-and-a-half pound) capacity, a Kalashnikov rifle, a pistol, and ammunition.

There is no independent confirmation of the information in the FSB press release.

On the morning of December 27, the online publication Baza reported that, on December 26, two residents of Kabardino-Balkaria had been killed during an arrest. According to Baza, the victims were 40-year-old Murat Shadov and 45-year-old Timur Marshenkulov. Investigators believed that they were planning to attack a military enlistment office in Chegem, says the publication.

The FSB regularly reports arrests or deaths of people allegedly connected to Ukraine or Ukrainian Special Services. As recently as December 26, the agency announced “the destruction of four saboteurs” from Ukraine in the Bryansk region, and “the liquidation of a terrorist organization,” which was transporting fighters to Syria and Ukraine to conduct military operations against the Russian Federation.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several dozen attacks on military enlistment offices happened in Russia. They were most often attempts at arson using flammable mixtures.