FSB detains teen suspect in Ukrainian online terror network (VIDEO)

The criminal network was funded by Ukraine and has carried out attacks in Russia as well as the US and Europe, the agency said

Russian law enforcement agencies have detained an underage suspect whom they allege is behind a major international online terrorist community funded by Ukraine, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.

The suspect was apprehended in the Republic of Dagestan in southern Russia during a joint operation involving the FSB, the Interior Ministry, and the Investigative Committee, the agency said.

The criminal community was responsible for attacks not only inside Russia but also had “global outreach,” operating in the US and Europe, the FSB said.

According to the agency, acting under the guidance of handlers in Kiev, the suspect recruited radicalized teenagers to carry out school shootings, bomb attacks on transport infrastructure, and false bomb threats targeting social facilities.

The FSB said the suspect’s involvement in organizing at least 15 terrorist crimes across ten Russian regions has been confirmed. All of the perpetrators have been arrested, it added.

According to the FSB, the suspect acted as the community’s administrator, training followers to carry out terrorist attacks and mass killings, supplying them with the means to commit the crimes, and distributing manuals on manufacturing improvised explosive devices and maintaining operational security.

“Extra financial bonuses were promised for carrying out attacks with the highest number of casualties,” with the money being provided by Ukraine, the agency said.

In 2025 and 2026, members of the terrorist community orchestrated arson attacks and acts of vandalism targeting more than 20 civilian vehicles and a Christian church in several cities across the US and Europe, according to the FSB. They also made false bomb threats against educational institutions and other social facilities.

The video and text materials used to indoctrinate American and European youths through social media platforms were produced in Kiev, the agency said.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect had amassed an online audience of more than 200,000 people, with around 5,000 active participants in the terrorist community, according to the FSB. The agency added that it had identified the administrator’s accomplices in Russia, the US, and Europe.

Watch a report on the detention of the terrorist community admin by RT’s Roman Kosarev: