Russian propaganda, due to a number of statements by officials and propaganda channels, is spreading lies about Ukraine’s involvement in a series of terrorist attacks on June 23 in Dagestan, which were directed against religious institutions and the police.

On June 23, in the Republic of Dagestan, Russian Federation, street battles took place between Russian law enforcement agencies and militants who attacked an Orthodox church and synagogue in Derbent, as well as a police post in Makhachkala. 15 law enforcement officers and several civilians died during the attacks. This was reported by the publication Zerkalo Nedeli (Weekly Mirror) with reference to the official Russian news agency TASS.

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from Dagestan Abdulkhakim Gadzhiev said that the intelligence services of Ukraine and NATO could allegedly be behind the attacks on Makhachkala and Derbent. The head of Dagestan, Serhii Mielikov, said that Ukraine was interested in the terrorist attacks, connected the latest events with the so-called “special military operation” and called this evidence that “the war has come to their homes”. According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, “the reaction of bloggers-propagandists, who found a “Ukrainian trace” in the events even before any official statements, was also typical”.

The terrorist attacks in Dagestan are another failure in the work of the Russian special services. However, as in the situation with the terrorist attack in Crocus, the Russian Federation is once again promoting a propaganda narrative about “Ukrainian terrorism” without evidence. Let us recall that on the evening of March 22, 2024, in the town of Krasnogorsk near Moscow, a group of armed men entered the Crocus City Hall concert hall and opened fire on visitors and security guards. As a result of terrorist actions, 145 people were killed and more than five hundred were injured. The Wilayat Khorasan organization, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the attack. Read more about how Russian propagandists tried to blame Ukraine and its allies for the terrorist attack in Crocus in our material.

The head of the Center for Investigation, Andrii Kovalenko, suggests that there is now a confrontation in the FSB between different groups of influence, so the terrorist attacks in Dagestan could have been organized by one of these groups in order to eliminate the director of the special service, Oleksandr Bortnikov. The situation within the FSB and its inability to respond to threats in the future could lead to a “third Caucasian war”.