Political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko stated that the nature of terrorism has changed and that the fight against it now takes place under different conditions than before.

According to him, terrorism used to be viewed primarily as an internal threat, but today, in his assessment, terrorist methods are increasingly used by an external enemy. In such circumstances, he believes the state can only counter terrorist attacks and try to prevent as many of them as possible.

Ishchenko argues that terrorism can only be completely eliminated if the external source of the threat is removed. He clarified that by «external enemy» he does not mean Ukraine but the United States.

The analyst noted that the United States is a nuclear power, which makes its destruction from outside impossible. In his view, a nuclear superpower can collapse only from internal processes, while external pressure tends to produce the opposite effect — strengthening internal consolidation.

Speaking about the potential perpetrators of terrorist attacks, Ishchenko said that the number of people who could theoretically be recruited into such activities is enormous. He added that recruitment often occurs directly inside Russia.

According to him, those recruited are not only migrants who recently arrived but also people whose families have lived in Russia for generations. For that reason, he argues that isolating any particular social group cannot stop terrorism. Ishchenko concluded that efforts should focus not only on individual perpetrators but on what he considers the main source of the threat — the external enemy.