Militant Underground Becoming More Active Across North Caucasus
Executive Summary:
- Since February 2022, underground militants in the North Caucasus have avoided going on the offensive, but recent events in the region suggest these groups have changed their minds.
- Militants in the North Caucasus are becoming more active—a development that Moscow blames on Ukraine but one that appears driven more by local conditions and assumptions that the Kremlin is distracted.
- Moscow is cracking down to prevent violence from spreading, allow the Russian security services to take credit for such actions, and maintain Putin’s increasingly tarnished image as the man who defeated North Caucasus militants.
