Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Investigative Committee announced on 26 June the detention in Dagestan of a 17-year-old Russian citizen accused of creating and administering what they describe as the largest international online community of adherents of terrorist organisations banned in Russia. The teenager has been charged with preparation for the murder of minors and placed in custody. According to the FSB, the network’s audience exceeded 200,000 subscribers, with around 5,000 active participants, and the accused is linked to at least 15 terrorist crimes across 10 Russian regions.

In video interrogations released by the FSB, the detainee states that his organisation promoted the “Columbine” movement (banned in Russia as terrorist) and aimed to carry out mass killings. He claims that the group’s activities were coordinated by agents of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and that video, photo, and text materials for recruitment were produced in Kyiv. The Investigative Committee adds that at least three Ukrainian citizens and accomplices from other countries were involved in managing the network. The teenager also told investigators that his motive was to become famous.

According to the FSB, members of the community carried out more than 20 arson attacks on civilian vehicles and a Christian church in the United States and Europe in 2025–2026, and sent false bomb threats to schools and social facilities. The detainee, in his recorded statement, said that in January 2026 one participant set five fires in Fort Wood, Texas, and that the group “evacuated all schools in Texas, 14 schools for sure,” later claiming similar actions in California, Germany, and Italy. Russian authorities state that the network also planned school attacks in Domodedovo, Krasnoyarsk, Oryekhovo-Zuyevo, St. Petersburg, Lipetsk, and other cities, with one attempt in Domodedovo prevented.

The case unfolds amid a broader pattern of youth radicalisation documented in several countries. A Swedish court this week sentenced a 20-year-old man to 18 months in prison for attempting to establish a local cell of the neo-Nazi Maniac Murder Cult (MKY), a group classified as terrorist by Russia, the UK, and Canada. In Argentina, police seized 25 firearms and over 6,700 rounds of ammunition from the home of a 16-year-old who had threatened a school shooting in La Plata. The FSB says it is now documenting all episodes of criminal activity by the Dagestan teenager’s accomplices in Russia, the US, and Europe, and that further details will be released as the investigation proceeds.