Number of terrorist attacks recorded in Russia reaches 20-year high

Russia’s Interior Ministry announced a sharp increase in the number of terrorist attacks recorded in the country last year, independent media outlet Verstka reported on Friday.

The ministry recorded a total of 410 terrorist attacks in 2023, over three times as many as the 127 recorded in 2022, and 10 times more than the 41 recorded in 2021.

The spike may be due in large part to the war, Verstka suggested, pointing to Russia’s classification of arson or attempted arson of a conscription office as well as the actions of the Ukrainian military on Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine as terrorist attacks.

Head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov alone has been accused of involvement in 104 terrorist attacks. Attacks on Russian territory, including the May drone strike on the Kremlin and the July attack on the southern city of Taganrog, are also classified as acts of terrorism.

The 2023 figure is the highest since 2003, when some 561 terrorist attacks were recorded. The 2003 attacks primarily involved explosions in crowded places such as metro lines, trains, military hospitals, and local FSB offices, which killed hundreds of people.