Calls to the Federal Security Service (FSB)’s public tip-off hotline surged in 2025, the agency said Tuesday amid what Russian officials say is an ongoing campaign of sabotage during the nearly four-year war on Ukraine.
In a statement published on its website, the FSB said its combined national and regional “Telephone of Trust” received almost 147,000 calls last year, a 33% increase since 2024.
This increase was driven by tips to regional security services, which jumped 88% year-on-year to 77,772 calls.
Almost 16,000 of the roughly 147,000 reports received nationwide contained “information significant for investigation,” the FSB said. Over 97% of these were sent to regional offices.
Using information the FSB received through the hotline, the agency said 18 people were prosecuted on terrorism and sabotage charges, which are punishable with years-long prison sentences.
The FSB alleged that these individuals acted on behalf of what it called Ukrainian “terrorist organizations” and were involved in arson attacks targeting transport infrastructure.
The agency also said that it had opened 20 criminal cases of making knowingly false reports.
Three people were arrested for spreading what the agency described as “information of a terrorist character,” while four others were prosecuted under administrative charges.
One Russian citizen was also detained for posting online threats to kill a government official, the statement said.
Separately, the agency said it had prevented the extortion of 6,193 people who were deceived by scammers posing as FSB officers. The fraudsters allegedly used spoofed phone numbers, including numbers linked to the security service, to obtain money from victims.
Russian authorities have reported numerous instances of railway sabotage, alleged political assassinations and arson attacks on recruitment offices since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Last week, a senior GRU military intelligence official was targeted in an assassination attempt that Russian authorities have blamed on Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have typically dismissed accusations of involvement in these attacks.
