During the week from December 29 to January 4, one person was killed in armed and terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts of Russia.

During the week from December 29, 2025 to January 4, 2026, one person was killed in armed and terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts of Russia. These are the results of the "Caucasian Knot" calculations, based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

As wrote "Caucasian Knot", during the week from December 15 to 21, 2025, no casualties were recorded in armed and terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus and southern Russia.

Killed in Nalchik

In Nalchik on December 30, a local resident was killed during an attempt to detain him. He, according to security forces, was preparing to blow up a section of the gas distribution system.

According to security forces, "a sabotage organized by the Ukrainian special services was prevented" in Kabardino-Balkaria. "During the attempt to detain the saboteur, he had armed resistance and was destroyed by return fire. "He was in possession of an improvised explosive device with a yield of up to 5 kilograms of TNT equivalent, a Ukrainian-made Fort assault rifle, and ammunition," the FSB stated.

Arrests and Sentences for Terrorism-Related Offenses

On December 29, Russian citizen Andzor Khalilov was deported from the United Arab Emirates. He is accused of aiding terrorist activity by Kabardino-Balkaria's investigative authorities. The developer from Kabardino-Balkaria was wanted by Interpol. According to investigators, in 2018, he provided financial support to a member of an international terrorist organization via bank transfers. He is also accused of fraud amounting to 21 million rubles in Nalchik between 2024 and 2023. He was remanded in custody after his deportation. According to the conclusion, the charges against Khalilov are based on the testimony of secret witness Kardanov, whom the accused himself calls fictitious. Another defendant in the case of collecting money for militants also denies the charges.

A criminal case has been opened against a 29-year-old prisoner in a penal colony in Stavropol Krai, who is suspected of promoting extremist ideology among other convicts.

The Southern District Military Court sentenced Ukrainian citizen Artem Malyshev to 27 years in prison, finding him guilty of attempting to blow up the head of an enterprise in the Zaporizhzhia region.

On December 30, a court in Stavropol Krai Members of the Ingush Batalkhadzhin vird have been detained in Moscow, Ingushetia, and Chechnya. A large quantity of weapons and ammunition was seized from them, the FSB announced. The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North Caucasus Federal District has opened a criminal case under the article on illegal possession of explosives and explosive devices. According to investigators, they had been engaged in apartment fraud for a long time, kidnapping and murdering their owners, in other words, they were "black realtors." The alleged criminal group included the brothers Aslan, Askhab, Ruslan, Yakub, Usman Mutsolgov, and other defendants who had been operating in Moscow since 2007. In addition, the Southern District Military Court is hearing a criminal case against 12 more members of the Batalkhadzhin vird, detained in connection with the murder of Ibrahim Eldzharkiev.

The Krasnodar Regional Court found four residents of Kuban guilty of committing group sabotage on the railway in 2022. Semyon Shipulin, Arman Ayrapetyan, Daniil Yevseyev, and Maxim Yaglov were sentenced to 13 to 15 years in prison, to be served in a maximum-security penal colony.

The Maykop City Court arrested a citizen of a Central Asian country, who was detained on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack at a school in Adygea.

A court in Karachayevsk sentenced Maria Ogoreva to a suspended sentence, deeming her attendance at religious services to constitute participation in an extremist organization. The pensioner denied the charges in court.

On January 4, it was announced that the prosecutor's office had secured annulment of the acquittal of Kuban resident Yevgeny Skidanov, who alleged torture after his arrest in 2019. Skidanov spent more than five years in custody on murder charges, which he consistently denied.

The "Caucasian Knot" publishes monthly, quarterly, and annual statistics on victims of the armed conflict in the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District in the section "North Caucasus - Victim Statistics".

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