Russia has begun recruiting not only teenagers but also elderly people to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks in Ukraine, luring them by phone while posing as officers of the Security Service of Ukraine or other Ukrainian authorities.
This was disclosed by Olena Semykina, adviser to the acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine, during the discussion “Digital Sovereignty 2026: How to Protect Ukraine and Ukrainians from Information and Cyber Threats,” organised by LB.ua. She stressed that many citizens do not fully grasp the scale of hostile influence on their conscious and subconscious perception.
According to Semykina, in 2023 Russian leader Vladimir Putin approved a plan dubbed “Diversionary Noise,” aimed at recruiting as many agents as possible in Ukraine to carry out arson attacks and acts of sabotage. After that, Russian special services intensified efforts to recruit the most vulnerable groups: teenagers, people with addictions and those seeking quick money, primarily through social media and messaging apps.
Teenagers were often offered money to transport packages containing explosives.
“The SBU works proactively to prevent crimes — not only to stop an explosion, but also to save lives, including that of a child who agreed to what they believed was an ‘innocent offer.’ As of today, the Security Service prevents 80% of sabotage and terrorist attacks in Ukraine,” Semykina said.
The SBU launched the “Expose an FSB Agent” project, creating a chatbot where citizens can report recruitment attempts. So far, it has received around 18,000 submissions.
As part of its counter-efforts, the SBU, together with juvenile police and the Education Ministry, has conducted open lectures in schools to warn children about recruitment tactics. Juvenile officers shared their personal phone numbers so minors could call at any time if approached. According to officials, this outreach has proven effective, with teenagers regularly reporting suspicious contacts.
Semykina said Russian handlers refer to explosive couriers as “meat,” effectively using them as suicide bombers: tracking their geolocation and detonating devices remotely once they reach the designated target. One such case occurred in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region, where two teenagers carrying improvised explosive devices were blown up upon reaching the location set by their curator.
Recruitment of elderly people is often carried out “under a false flag.” They are told they are assisting Ukrainian law enforcement — for example, asked to monitor a soldier allegedly collaborating with the enemy or to perform other “tasks in the interests of the state.”
“These are outrageous cases where the lives of volunteers and well-known military figures were at risk,” Semykina said, adding that in one instance a retired serviceman was recruited and sincerely believed he was working for Ukraine rather than against it.
For his part, Yevhen Yerin, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, said that Ukraine conducts similar operations on enemy territory. According to him, money remains the primary motivation driving Russians to carry out acts of sabotage.