Uran Botobekov
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has aimed to widen the geopolitical rift between the so-called Global South and the West. The Kremlin seeks to circumvent oil-related sanctions, while weaponizing threats posed by Uzbek and Tajik militants of the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) to portray Kyiv and its Western partners as complicit with global jihadi networks. This was exemplified on October 13, 2025, when Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced it foiled an assassination plot targeting a senior military officer, alleging that the plot was orchestrated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in coordination with the Islamic State (IS) (Federal Security Service of Russia, October 13, 2025).
Propaganda about the Assassination Plot. Four suspects were detained in the assassination plot—three Russian nationals and one Central Asian—for allegedly planning a suicide attack in central Moscow. The operation was reportedly directed by IS member Saidakbar Gulomov from bases in Ukraine and Western Europe. The FSB also claimed Gulomov was involved in the December 2024 assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia’s Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops (Gazeta.ru, December 17, 2024). Wanted by both Uzbekistan and Russia, Gulomov is believed to be of Uzbek origin, but no verified links to Ukraine, IS, or ISKP have been established. Russia’s accusations against Gulomov blur the line between war propaganda and legitimate counterterrorism analysis.
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