A 35-year-old local woman has been detained in Kabardino-Balkaria; the FSB suspects her of plotting an armed attack on parishioners at a religious institution. According to the agency, the woman was acting under the direction of Ukrainian special services. The regional FSB directorate announced this on October 9, and local media outlets disseminated the information.

A criminal case has been opened against the woman for high treason (Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code), as well as for attempted terrorist attack (Part 3 of Article 30 and Part 1 of Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code). The combined charges carry a potential penalty of up to life imprisonment.

At present, only the FSB’s version of events has been made public. Available reports contain no independent confirmation of the detainee's alleged links to Ukrainian special services, nor do they provide details that would allow for the verification of the agency's claims. The woman's name and her stance regarding the charges have not been released. The agency also did not specify which religious institution was the intended target of the attack.

The arrest took place against a backdrop of rising numbers of terrorism-related convictions in Russia and reduced access to court records. According to research by the human rights project "First Department" (Pervy Otdel) and analysts at Parubets Analytics, Russian courts handed down 1,145 convictions under Articles 205–205.5 of the Russian Criminal Code in the first half of 2026—a 58% increase compared to the same period the previous year. A total of 1,234 individuals were convicted, yet the names of 64.4% of them were withheld in court records. Researchers note that the lack of official statistics and the withholding of information regarding the individuals involved complicate the analysis of judicial practice.