The shootout involving security forces was the second in Stavropol since the beginning of the year.

The shootout in which security forces killed a Stavropol resident was preceded by the murder of a Kislovodsk resident, a suspect in a case involving a terrorist plot in Stavropol. According to the FSB, the man was plotting a terrorist attack on orders from the Ukrainian side and offered armed resistance during an arrest attempt.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the FSB reported today on the prevention of a terrorist attack at the "Defenders of the Fatherland" foundation branch in Stavropol. A man preparing an explosion on orders from Ukrainian intelligence agencies was killed in a shootout.

According to the "Caucasian Knot," based on its own materials and information from open sources, the shootout between security forces and a Stavropol resident was the second similar incident in the Stavropol Krai this year.

On January 20, security forces reported that a Kislovodsk resident, born in 1982 and suspected of plotting a terrorist attack in Stavropol, offered armed resistance to FSB special forces and was killed by return fire. According to the agency, a Makarov pistol, an F-1 hand grenade, and a backpack containing an improvised explosive device were found at the scene.

A prior shootout with security forces occurred in Stavropol Krai on February 8, 2023. That day, a counter-terrorism operation (CTO) was declared in the village of Petrovsky. As a result, security forces reported the deaths of four militants planning a terrorist attack on the railway commissioned by a "Ukrainian armed group." On February 9, the counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime was lifted.

Before the incident in the village of Petrovskoye, the CTO regime was last declared in Stavropol Krai on the night of December 9, 2017. It was then introduced in the center of Stavropol. The FSB stated that the purpose of the special operation was to prevent a terrorist attack. According to security forces, three militants were killed during the counter-terrorism operation.

The dead were identified as natives of Chechnya, Dagestan, and the Stavropol Territory. The special operation took place in a quiet area near the center and came as a surprise, according to experts and Stavropol residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot." Residents noted that the counter-terrorist operation (CTO) regime did not cause them any fear.

As a reminder, in 2025, security forces regularly reported on thwarted terrorist attacks in Stavropol.

For example, in December 2025, security forces detained an 18-year-old resident of Kuban in Stavropol. According to investigators, she came to Stavropol to blow up a serviceman's car with an improvised explosive device. Security forces believe that the man killed today, "on instructions from Ukrainian special services," planted the explosive device used to bomb a car near a military unit, which the girl, detained in December, used to attempt to plant a bomb.

In October 2025, the FSB announced the arrest of a 25-year-old man in connection with a terrorist plot in Georgievsk. Security forces identified him as a local resident, although during interrogation he claimed to have "arrived" in the Stavropol Territory.

In May 2025, nine people, including eight teenagers, suspected of plotting attacks on police officers were taken into custody in the Stavropol Territory. Some of the detainees told security forces that they swore an oath to a terrorist organization without understanding the meaning. Prior to this incident, since the beginning of 2025, the FSB had reported preventing terrorist attacks in Stavropol Krai at least four times. Analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" disputed these FSB reports. The reports are due to the activity of terrorist supporters and preventive measures by security forces, stated journalist Vasily Balditsyn and scientist Alexey Gunya. Interior Ministry Colonel Amir Kolov countered that security services in the North Caucasus are also persecuting activists and critics of the security forces.

Materials with monthly, quarterly, and annual casualty counts of the armed conflict in the North Caucasus regions are published in the section "North Caucasus – Casualty Statistics". Statistics for the year are also presented in the form of infographics.