On October 10, Director of the Russian FSB Alexander Bortnikov said at a meeting of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee that since 2022, two terrorist crimes have been committed and 37 have been prevented in the North Caucasus. According to the FSB, they were prepared by supporters of the international terrorist organization ISIS and "individuals recruited by Ukrainian special services and neo-Nazi organizations."

Bortnikov also noted that in the district "there is activity of international terrorist organizations and an increase in threats in the context of a special military operation. Western special services do not abandon their attempts to destabilize the socio-political situation in the North Caucasus."

Meanwhile, human rights activists and analysts doubt that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is really recruiting agents for terrorist attacks in Russia. Thus, the representative of the human rights "Team Against Torture" Sergei Babinets believes that the most important thing for the security forces is not the search for real criminals, but rather ticking off the boxes in their reports. Therefore, innocent people often end up in the dock. Examples of this are numerous cases of financing and aiding terrorists, for example, the case of the Dagestani journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiev. The "Team Against Torture" receives many complaints from so-called "accomplices" who were tortured into confessions. Olga Romanova, the founder of the "Sided Rus'" foundation, also believes that cases of "terrorists" appear for the sake of reporting, as well as for bonuses and promotions. "If last year they neutralized 28 spies, then this year they can't expose only two. And now the spies will be transformed into terrorists, which is even cooler. "Reporting, intimidation, mainstream and propaganda," the publication "Kavkaz.Realii" quotes Romanova as saying.

Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the Sova information and analytical center, also speaks about the propaganda background of the phenomenon of "neo-Nazism." If denazification is on the agenda, then there must be Nazis, the expert notes.

At the end of 2022, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee provided statistics on "terrorist crimes" throughout Russia. According to the NAC, 123 such crimes were prevented in the country over the year, including 64 terrorist attacks. In addition, the work of 68 "conspiratorial" cells of international terrorist organizations was stopped.