'Ukraine, allies brainwashing young Russians to become terrorists'

Moscow: The chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, claimed on Tuesday that Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies are attempting to brainwash the minds of young Russians to turn them into terrorist against their own country. According to a statement from the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK), which he chairs, Bortnikov asserted during a meeting that “Ukraine and their Western sponsors’ special services have launched an aggressive brainwashing and recruitment campaign on our citizens” amid the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. Bortnikov claims Russia has stopped 118 terrorist attacks from being planned by young people and kids since February 2022, when Moscow began its offensive against Ukraine. Targeting “especially the younger generation to involve them in sabotage, terrorist, and extremist activities” is one of Kyiv and its Western allies’ key objectives, he continued. The FSB chief also referred to “a serious threat” posed by certain students’ efforts to set the stage for assaults on Russian schools and other educational institutions while under the influence of various “destructive subcultures.” He said, “Some of these subcultures are coordinated from Ukrainian territory,” the statement said. In order to combat this, the members of NAK have decided to push more and more awareness-raising programmes in educational institutions for young people in the former Ukrainian regions that chose to join Russia last autumn, among other counter terrorism efforts. The committee meeting was reportedly held after well-known military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in a cafe explosion in St. Petersburg earlier this month. Reportedly, the explosion was executed by Darya Trepova, 26, who is currently being held by police. It caused several dozen further injuries apart from the death of Tatarsky. The anti-corruption fund FBK, which was classified as an extremist organisation in 2021, and agents working with opposition leader Alexey Navalny were allegedly involved in the bomb plan, according to Russian investigators. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, issued a warning in late February, saying that the West “never hesitated to use both radicals and extremists for their own interests.” At the time, he added, “They always use whatever is available against us. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.